


A Slytherin Through Time

by Mikill



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Action, Action/Adventure, Book 3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Book 4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Draco and Neville are best friends, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Quidditch World Cup, Sirius Black Gets A Trial, Sirius Black Lives, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-22
Updated: 2020-02-01
Packaged: 2020-03-09 17:58:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 82,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18922177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mikill/pseuds/Mikill
Summary: With a sly smile he eyed the time turner. It gleamed like gold, just the way the Malfoys liked it. With this, he could save his son. He went for the door but came to a sudden halt when realization hit him: With the time turner, he could save more than just one person.(Draco-centric time travel fanfiction, 3rd year)





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> If the summary seems familiar then you have probably already seen this story on FanFiction.net. It is a WIP which already has 76 chapters there. For the story's two year anniversary (which will be next week) I've decided to upload it here as well. I'll upload one chapter every week (for at least the next 70 weeks, probably longer because there are still quite a few chapters to go).
> 
> (SPOILER Alert: The story begins where Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ends, but you don't have to know it to enjoy this story. It just was a good point to start my story. I don't think the few references to the play spoiler anything if you have not read or seen the play.)
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
> 
> Read, enjoy and review :)

Draco was rummaging through the attic of Malfoy manor. It had to be here somewhere. He hadn't thought of it before, but it had to be here somewhere. He tossed aside an old teddy bear and dug into a huge pile of old stuff. "Ouch!" he hissed and pulled his right hand back. His index finger was bleeding. It was the needle of an old brooch of his mother. He put it aside and went through the pile again. He was tense. He could feel the knots in his back. Every single one of them. He couldn't remember a time when they weren't present. Or the constant throbbing pain in the back of his head absent.

His hand went over rough leather and something that felt like a hair brush. His fingers kept roaming. "Yes," he whispered. This felt like metal. Round metal. With something smooth in the middle. He closed his fingers around it and pulled it out of the heap. How could he have forgotten about this until now? He remembered having it in one of the glass cases of his family's old Dark artifact collection. For all his father's talk about the good old times and his complaining about the "mudblood minster", he never used it to change anything about the status quo. After the final battle, the Aurors would regularly visit Malfoy manor. Check up on their Dark artifacts and whether any of them had been used. What he was looking for now had been the one artifact that he could not in any way, shape or form explain and it was illegal enough to warrant a stint in Azkaban. So, not willing to part with it completely, he had hidden it where no one would look for such a powerful object, in plain sight. Not quite hidden at all. Right where no one would ever look for such a valuable object. In the middle of plenty of worthless, long forgotten trinkets. He had hidden it there, and forgotten all about it, until this very moment, in which his hands closed around the invaluable object.

With a sly smile he eyed the time turner. It gleamed like gold, just the way the Malfoys like it. With this, he could save his son, Scorpius, who had unfortunately ended up stuck in the past with Albus Potter, one of the sons of Harry Potter. He went for the door but came to a sudden halt when realization hit him:

He could save Astoria too.

Astoria… His face fell at the thought of his beloved wife. A deep sense of loneliness washed over him, the pain and longing catching him off guard. 

Then, suddenly, he felt guilty. Why hadn't he thought of this earlier? He could go back a few years and work on a way to counter the curse which had taken from him his one and only true love. Astoria, Scorpius and him could be a real, happy family again. Or he could at least spend some more time with her. Tell her how much he loved her. Just see her beautiful smile one last time.

But he had to save his son first… or did he? If he just traveled back and made sure his son never went back in time? But he would arrive in an already altered timeline, wouldn't he? And that meant his son might not even be born in that new time. His headache grew stronger.

Although extensively studied, there was still much unknown when it came to time travel. There were theories and laws for small scale time travel and theories and laws for bigger jumps back in time. The problem was: it was seemingly impossible to combine the different theories. There was not one that would explain everything and the theories already in existence contradicted each other in a way that not more than one could be true at the same time.

He could not risk it. Save his son first and then Astoria.

Determined and with more hope than he had had in years, he left the attic in search of one Harry Potter.

ooOOoo

"Scorpius," Draco held his son tight.

"Dad," his son mumbled into his chest. They hugged each other. It was finally over and he had his son back. Back in the right time and place. The original timeline restored.

"I love you, son," Draco eventually whispered. He did not show affection like that often but he had just realized that that had been a mistake. His son deserved to hear it as often as he could.

They were in the Auror office at the ministry. The Aurors were dealing with Delphi, his, he shuddered, cousin. Did that mean, he was actually, in some way, related to the Dark Lord? He did not want to think about it.

The rest - Ginny, Harry, Ron, Hermione and so on - were talking on the other side of the room. They had their own family reunions to celebrate.

His son left his embrace and walked over to the others. This gave Draco the time he needed to do what he felt had to be done. For his son. For his wife. For his family.

He felt bad for leaving his son behind. But he reminded himself, that he wasn't. His son would never know he was gone. He would grow up with his mother by his side and he would never even get into this whole time turner mess.

He grabbed the time turner, which was on the desk, unattended. He slipped out of the room unnoticed and left the ministry. Then he apparated straight back to Malfoy manor and went up to the attic again.

Before he could change his mind, he started spinning the time turner.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Read, enjoy and review :)

The lights flickered, the walls moved a little, and Draco felt dizzy. When the lights stopped flickering and his head stopped spinning, he noticed… that nothing had changed. He was still in the attic of Malfoy manor. One could still hardly take two steps without tripping over some long forgotten family-heirloom. The room was still not on the cleaning agenda of the various house elves and dust covered many of the objects. Maybe the time turner had broken during the rescue mission? Then all hope was lost for his wife. He sank to his knees. The pain of losing her fresh as it had ever been.

Suddenly, he heard steps, and drew his wand immediately. He looked up as the door to the attic creaked open and he looked into the eyes of… himself. Or rather, a significantly younger version of himself. They stared at each other in surprised awe. Draco opened his mouth to say something – what, he wasn't sure – but noticed that the younger Draco did not move. It appeared as if he was frozen in time. Slowly, his expression unchanged, he started to fall apart. It seemed like he turned into dust. A million Draco particles flying around, swirling through the air. Draco was mesmerized by the sight. Horrified and mesmerized. If Draco had been able to turn his gaze away he would have noticed that the same was happening to him. The bits and pieces flew around the room, they circled each other until they finally settled on a form. Out of the two Dracos there was now only one left. Draco - older Draco - looked down at his hands. They were positively tiny. Devoid of any scars that he had gathered over the years. And, most importantly: no Dark Mark.

He stared at his arms for a while, struggling to comprehend, dizziness taking over.

He took a closer look at everything else in the room… and upon closer inspection, the attic was far less cluttered than just mere moments ago. So, apparently, it had worked. But when exactly was he? The attic on its own did not provide sufficient information to reach a satisfying conclusion.

His question was somewhat answered when he heard a familiar voice calling his name. "Draco?" It sounded like his mother. "Draco, darling, where are you?"

His mother sounded so… young. And carefree. Her voice did not sound as tired as it had the last time he had heard it.

"I am here, mother," he walked towards the door and hid the time turner in his pocket. He felt surprisingly numb. He probably should have freaked out by that point, but his mind refused to accept what his eyes told him was true.

"What are you doing up there? Never mind, hurry up, we are leaving in 10 minutes."

10 minutes? Leaving?

He hurried downstairs, where he saw his trunk and Quidditch equipment. He was going back to school, so apparently it was September. He was sure this was not his first year. He hadn't been allowed to take any Quidditch equipment with him for his first year at Hogwarts. His parents had been strict about that. Perhaps they would have let him, had they known Harry Potter would be allowed to fly for the Quidditch team in his first year.

Draco's gaze fell on his arms again. He couldn't find the scar from his encounter with Buckbeak, the violent hippogriff. Second or third year, then. For more information he would just have to be patient.

His parents met him at the end of the stairs. The smiles on their faces made something stir in Draco's stomach. They looked happy. Happier than he remembered them. The war had driven a wedge between them which they had never been able to mend completely. There was also something else. It took Draco a second to realize what it was. Pride. They were proud of their son.

Looking at his father, Draco again wondered why his father had never used the time turner. They had lost so much in the war. Money, status, friends and family members. Lucius Malfoy hated the muggle-born minister. With a passion. He had said so more times than Draco could count. But Draco would probably never find out why his father had done, or not done, what he did.

Together, as a family, they made their way to King's Cross and platform 9 ¾. Once he saw the scarlet steam engine puffing smoke over the witches and wizards walking around the platform, he finally relaxed somewhat. He glanced over the platform and saw a gathering of red heads. The Weasleys. And in their middle – Albus Potter. No - wait. That couldn't be right. His father, Harry Potter, who he had just seen about half an hour ago, but at the same time it felt like years had passed between their last encounter.

He saw one of the older Weasleys walking towards a girl with long, curly hair. He was sporting a shiny badge on his chest. He saw Ginny and Harry snicker, and then Harry's eyes met his and the latter's face fell immediately, his eyebrows lowered and drawn together. Draco frowned. He knew with time this would probably change again, but right now he couldn't bring himself to dislike any of the Gryffindors. They were still children. And which grown up hated children?

They were so innocent and young, not aware of the horrible years that lay ahead of them, that some of them would not survive. Instead of the jealousy and disgust he usually felt when he saw them or rather when his younger self had seen them, he felt a little melancholic.

With an uneasy feeling, he turned around and wrapped his arms around his parents. It was unusual for him, but he had learned the hard way how important family was and he would not waste a minute of his precious time with the people he loved. "I love you," he mumbled.

His father looked surprised while his mother smiled. "We love you too, Draco. Have a good year and don't forget to write me a letter every once in a while."

He smiled and they said their goodbyes.

Turning away from them, he took in the bustling atmosphere of the train station. There was Neville - the man who refused the Dark Lord, who slayed Nagini, who taught Draco's son Herbology - small and chubby, saying goodbye to his grandmother. Somewhere further away was Daphne, young, innocent and smiling, chatting excitedly with Pansy and Millicent. Crabbe and Goyle - young, not yet bitter... alive - arrived at the platform with their parents.

Crabbe and Goyle were looking his way, but Draco began to feel dizzy, the world began to turn, and he quickly hurried away, towards the train.

On his way to the train he almost ran into a little girl struggling with her huge trunk.

"Astoria," he breathed, the world still turning and blurring, but her he could see with a surprising clarity. For a while, he just stared at her, overcome by emotions. She was alive. Astoria was alive!

Finally, he overcame his inability to speak and move, and offered his help with her trunk. She was so beautiful and he had missed her smile, her smell, her voice,… so much. He had missed her presence in his life. Her sharp mind and kind heart. Her understanding and compassion when he knew he had messed up. Here she was, young and alive. Only 11. Draco felt like a rug was being pulled out from under him. He could barely separate from her but he knew he had to. There was so much he wanted to say, but couldn't.

He hurried onto the train and sat down in an empty compartment. His parents, Astoria, all the people at the platform,… it was just too much for him. The gravity of it all weighed down on his chest and it threatened to suffocate him.

He sat there in silence, breathing heavily and trying to sort his thoughts. He was back. He had actually traveled back through time and was apparently in the body of his younger self. It was enormous. Unheard of. The implications were... Draco was struggling to wrap his head around the pure magnitude of it all.

He could save Astoria and be a better husband and father. But he also just realized that it would be years before he would have with Astoria what he had had the first time around. And even longer before he would see his son again. He heard his pulse throb in his ears and sweat ran down his forehead. Now that he had some alone time the incredible sense of loss hit him full force.

The door to his compartment swung open and a small, blond girl stood in the frame. She was wearing a necklace made of a stopper, radish earrings and had her wand tucked behind her ear.

Draco nearly jumped out of his seat, drawing his wand out of instinct.

"You look upset," she said, seemingly unbothered by his ready-to-attack stance. "Are you alright?"

He looked at her, blinking a few times, lowering his wand again. "I've been having a rough couple of days," he finally admitted, his voice hoarse. "Years, really." He probably shouldn't talk to her, but voicing his concerns already made him feel a bit better, and his breathing eased somewhat. And she was at least somewhat neutral, in her first year, at least.

Luna looked at him. "I am sorry to hear that."

Draco smiled at her weakly. The situation was beyond surreal. Here he had just done the impossible, traveled back in time, had to consider questions of life and death... and an 11-year-old girl who his parents had held captive in their basement for... more days - weeks - months - than any child should ever be held captive, offered comfort. "I just don't know what do do now. I made many mistakes and disappointed so many people."

The girl seemed to give this some thought. "Do you feel sorry for what you did?"

Draco looked out of the window, unable to look into her innocent face, and slowly nodded his head. "Feeling sorry" did not even begin to cover the gut-wrenching guilt he felt when he thought about his past. He could not even look at Luna without feeling horrible. His parents had held a child captive. A child! And he had fully supported it.

"That's the most important thing, I think," she said. "If you do the right thing from now on and you feel truly sorry for what you have done..."

That sounded a lot like advice Astoria would have given him, but it did not solve his problem. "I don't know what the right thing is," he admitted. He never did. When he had been younger he had thought supporting his parents had been the right thing, and clearly he had been wrong. But now? Did staying in the past mean he abandoned his son? Or did his son not exist anymore and he had killed him? Or would he abandon him by not doing anything and everything in his might to make things right and save the boy's mother?

"You have made mistakes, everyone does. Just because someone stumbles and loses their way, it doesn't mean they're lost forever. You stumbled. Maybe a wrackspurt floated through your head for a while... But you seem to have found your way again. You have learned from your mistakes and you regret them. I don't think it really matters what you do from now on - even if it is right or wrong, really - as long as you do it with good intentions and don't repeat the mistakes of your past," Luna said with conviction.

Draco gave this some thought. Maybe Luna was right. Maybe there was no right decision in this. Maybe the important part was that whatever decision he made, he made it for the right reasons. And Astoria, his wonderful Astoria, was still alive and he had years to figure out a way to break the curse that would eventually take her from him. He had years that he could spend with her. He would be a better husband and father when the time came. He would not make the same mistakes again.

It would be hard for him, to live without his wife and son for a few years, but maybe he deserved this punishment. He had never truly had to pay for his sins. He knew this was the best for both of them and for once, he would not be selfish and do the right thing. For Astoria. And for Scorpius. He would make sure that they would live happy, healthy and, most importantly, long lives.

"You are Luna, right?" he asked, his mood suddenly a lot better now that he had made a decision.

"You know me?"

Did he? Had he known her before she joined Potter's gang of misfits? Before his parents had... "Just remember your name from the ceremony. Ravenclaw, right?"

"Yes. And you are Draco Malfoy, Slytherin," she stated more than asked. She appeared absent-minded, as she always did, and was a little unkempt, but she was clearly sharper than Draco had ever given her credit for.

"How do you know?"

"My father sometimes writes articles about your father."

Draco vaguely remembered one about his father being the son of a Veela, among other ridiculous articles. And later even a few less than flattering articles about Draco himself. 

"Ah," he just said. He wanted to say something nice about her father's paper but couldn't come up with anything even semi-nice.

Luna looked down the corridor and decided that her work was done.

"It was nice talking to you, Draco Malfoy." She turned toward the door.

"Luna," he called after her. "Thanks."

She smiled and left. A few seconds later, Crabbe, Goyle and Zabini walked into his compartment.

The ride to Hogwarts was surreal. His compartment consisted of a number of living corpses. Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott and Pansy Parkinson were sitting around him. Crabbe had been killed by his own Fiendfyre in the Room of Requirement, an event which had led to many sleepless nights and a lot of guilt for Draco. Goyle he had found lying dead on the floor after the Battle of Hogwarts, a picture that still haunted him. Theodore Nott, ironically, had not been dead in his time but was sent to Azkaban after being arrested for the illegal possession of an unregistered time turner. Pansy and Blaise had mostly stayed out of the final battle as far as he could remember. Blaise had left the country and Pansy had died during childbirth.

He thought sitting with them would be weird. He thought the guilt would weigh heavy around them. That the loss would feel more real than it had in a long time. But seeing them again actually felt good. Talking to them about completely normal teenager stuff. Quidditch, visits to Hogsmeade, Quidditch, how they spent their summers, more Quidditch. He almost forgot that he was not really a teenage Draco, talking to his peers.

He had always just considered them to be acquaintances, not friends. He had been far too focused on being (or rather, appearing to be) superior to everyone around him, to ever really make any friends. Keeping up an impeccable image had kept him from telling those around him how he really felt, so none of the other Slytherins every really knew him. Maybe he should change that. He would need all the help he could get in his endeavor. And it would be nice not to be alone for a change. He had always envied Potter his friends and hated him all the more because he had had something Draco hadn't. Only now was he mature enough to see that it had been his own fault.

They were just talking about the Quidditch World Cup when the weather outside grew darker and colder. The rain and the wind were getting louder by the second and the train slowed down.

"We here?" asked Crabbe between bites of his chocolate frog.

"No," he whispered. No, this wasn't good. Realization of what year this was finally hit him. How could he not have thought of this earlier?

"It's getting really cold," Blaise muttered, eyes darting around the compartment.

"What's going on?" Pansy whispered worriedly.

Draco looked at her and said only one word. "Dementors."

Abruptly, the train came to a halt, the lights went out and Draco could hear Pansy's surprised squeak.

"Lumos," Draco mumbled. Now he could see the fear on his companions' faces. Draco gulped. They were children and they were scared. Pansy, who was sitting to his right, edged closer to him. He put a reassuring hand on her back. "It's gonna be alright," he whispered.

The door to their compartment slid open and, ironically, from all of them only Crabbe had the presence of mind to grab his wand and try for a defensive spell. But he halted mid-movement, when a dark figure entered the compartment, moving closer to Draco.

The cold was almost unbearable. The screams of a tortured Hermione filled his ears and pictures of a dead muggle studies professor being devoured by a snake flashed in front of his eyes. He saw images of his dying wife, her last, painful, days, his son in danger, the Dark Lord's atrocities,… it did not stop. He felt like it never would.

His head felt like it was splitting in two and he wanted to scream and cry, the first one he actually did. Breathing became almost impossible before everything went black.


	3. Chapter 3

When he woke up again, he was looking into the eyes of one worried Professor Remus J. Lupin.

"Are you alright, boy?"

Draco was definitely not alright. His heart was racing and his head spinning. He could feel sweat running down his back and felt colder than in the coldest of winters.

"I'm fine," he finally lied. He had fainted. How pathetic. His cheeks started to burn from the embarrassment, but when he looked around, he noticed that no one seemed to find it particularly funny. Crabbe and Goyle were very pale and it looked like Pansy had been crying. All of them had worried looks on their faces. All of them focused on him.

Lupin studied him for a while. He probably did not believe him. Draco wouldn't believe himself either. Besides his now probably pink cheeks, he probably was as pale as a ghost.

It was weird to see Prof. Lupin worried on his behalf. He had not been one of his favorite pupils during the time he taught at Hogwarts. Not that Draco hadn't given him every reason he could to dislike him. He had done his best to make Lupin's time at Hogwarts as difficult as possible. He had never felt too bad about it, considering the man was a werewolf. That thought made Draco instinctively put some distance between them by getting up from the floor and sitting down closer to the window.

Lupin gave all of them some chocolate and left the compartment. The chocolate made him feel better immediately, warming him from the inside, calming his erratic breathing and racing heart.

"What happened?" Draco asked after a few awkward minutes of silence. His head was still spinning and he could barely hold a thought. Saving his son, travelling back in time and being attacked by a Dementor - it was all a bit much for one day.

The others looked at each other.

"That… thing... attacked you," Goyle offered, summarizing the events to the best of his abilities.

"You screamed and twitched and then Pansy started screaming. I thought we were all done for but then a dog or something came in here and made that thing disappear," Blaise recounted.

In hindsight, Draco should have known this would happen. He had known what year it was as soon as he had seen Astoria at the platform, but he had not considered the implications any further. Now, the memories replayed before his inner eye in quick succession. The Dementors, the Hippogriff attack, Sirius Black, werewolves,...

"I felt like I would never be happy again… It was so weird," Pansy added, her voice shaky. "Why did this happen? Why did they attack us?"

"Sirius Black," Draco offered meekly.

The others looked at him.

"You think they are looking for him?" Pansy asked.

"Yes," he mumbled.

"Do you think he really might be here? Are we in danger?" Pansy asked.

They all looked at each other. Draco shrugged his shoulders, he was not really in any mood to talk anymore.

He spent the rest of the ride not talking much. Neither did the others.

This time, no one made fun of Harry Potter. Draco was relieved when he noticed that no one was making fun of him either. Having experienced what the Dementors could do first-hand, he had to admit, it had never really been a laughing matter. But rivalry and youthful ignorance could be a cruel thing.

* * *

 

When they arrived in the Great Hall, Headm- no, _Professor_ McGonagall called Draco, Harry and Hermione to her office.

In her office, a tight-lipped Prof. Snape had already been waiting for them. He had his arms crossed in front of him, and his gaze lingered on Draco when he entered the room.

Seeing his godfather again sent Draco's emotions on another roller coaster. Relief, happiness, guilt.

He had missed Severus Snape a lot after he had died and still felt guilty for treating him badly when he was only trying to help during his 6th year. Maybe Draco should have felt betrayed, when he found out that they hadn't been on the same side. But Snape had healed his wounds when Potter had nearly killed him. He had saved his life when he took the unbreakable vow with his mother. He had taken over the task set by the Dark Lord when Draco couldn't. He had protected him, even though they were not on the same side. There was no way that he could feel anything for the man but gratitude. He had looked up to the man when he was really just a kid but now he really respected and admired the man before him.

Professor McGonagall motioned the three students to take a seat.

"Professor Lupin sent an owl ahead to say that you two were taken ill on the train," Snape began.

He was interrupted by a soft knock on the door. Madam Pomfrey came bustling in.

"I'm fine," Potter said, "I don't need anything-"

"Oh it's you, is it?" said Madam Pomfrey, ignoring the other students in the room. She checked his temperature. "I suppose you've been doing something dangerous again?" she muttered.

Draco chuckled. Potter must have spent a lot of his time in the infirmary. Potter glared in his direction, and Draco quieted down, averting his gaze. 

"It was a dementor, Poppy," said Professor McGonagall, a bit overly dramatically, in Draco's opinion. "Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy's reactions were especially worrying."

The adults exchanged a dark look, and Madam Pomfrey clucked disapprovingly.

"Setting dementors around a school," she muttered, pushing back Draco's hair and feeling his forehead. "They won't be the last ones who collapse. Yes, they are all clammy. Terrible things, they are, and the effect they have on people who are already delicate-"

"I'm not delicate!" Draco and Harry interrupted at the same time. The glanced at each other.

"Potter has seen his parents die when he was a baby and he has faced the Dark Lord twice! I'd like to see anyone else experience that and then not have a bad reaction to one of those blasted things!" Draco argued defensively. He had found Potter's fainting pathetic the first time around, but now he knew how the Dementors affected people who had experienced traumatic events, as he now too was such a person. 

Everyone was staring at him now. Had Draco Malfoy really just defended Harry Potter? Draco sunk deeper into his chair, trying to make himself as small as possible.

"What do they need?" Snape finally broke the awkward silence, seemingly ignoring Draco's little outburst. His gaze, however, lingered on Draco.

"Some chocolate will do," Madam Pomfrey answered.

"Prof. Lupin already gave us some," Harry muttered.

"Did he, now?" Madam Pomfrey said approvingly. "So, we've finally got a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who knows his remedies?"

Snape harrumphed. McGonagall glared at him disapprovingly.

"Are you sure you two feel alright?" she asked Draco and Harry.

They both nodded their heads.

"Very well. Prof. Snape will go down to the feast with you, while I have a quick word with Miss Granger here."

Out in the corridor, Harry muttered a quick "Thanks," into the direction of Draco.

_Weird_ , Draco thought. He hadn't expected Potter to show gratitude. He had always thought Potter hated him and was arrogant, or at least he had as a thirteen year old. But apparently, his vision of the past had been a little distorted by his own feelings and attitudes.

"Don't mention it, Potter."

Together with Prof. Snape, they made their way to the Great Hall in silence. Potter went to his table while Snape motioned Draco to have a quick word with him.

Draco expected a scolding for helping Potter or him demanding an explanation, but when his head of house turned towards him with a worried look on his face, he got neither.

"Is everything alright, Draco?"

He had the same look on his face that he had had when he had tried to talk to him in his sixth year. How foolish he had been to turn down the help.

"I'm fine," Draco said. It felt good to know that someone worried and cared about him.

"You were right in your assumption that Mr. Potter has good reasons to react the way he did. Dementors are terrible creatures, feeding of people's fears and regrets. You, however, have no such reasons," he pressed on.

"I... I know… I don't know why I reacted that way," he lied. 

"When you need to talk to someone, you know my door is always open," Snape said, obviously not believing Draco's story. And why would he? Draco had been spoiled rotten by his parents, protected from anything unpleasant the world could possibly throw at him. In retrospect, he had been ill prepared for a war.

"I know. Thank you for caring," Draco said and flashed his godfather a smile.

Snape smiled too, a strange sight, and let his godson leave.

* * *

 

In the Great Hall he noticed that he had just missed the Sorting. He would have loved to see his Astoria being sorted. Unlike her older sister, Daphne, who was a Slytherin, Astoria had been a Ravenclaw. Fitting, Draco thought, she had been one of the smartest witches he had ever known.

Draco sat down at the Slytherin table. He did not listen to the headmaster, but instead watched Astoria the whole time. He did not hear the warning about the Dementors and the introduction of the two new professors. He did not notice, that this time, Prof. Lupin was greeted with a thundering applause from both the Gryffindor and the Slytherin table. He did not notice Prof. Snape watching him instead of glaring at Lupin, either. She was alive. And that was all that mattered to him right now. After the horrible day he had had so far, he finally felt at ease. Everything would be alright.

* * *

 

The next day was quite uneventful. Until they had Care of Magical Creatures, that was. Draco grimly thought about the events of his first lesson with Hagrid the first time around. He glared in the half-giant's direction, blaming him for letting these dangerous creatures loose on inexperienced students, even though he knew it had been his own fault for ignoring the instructions. One thing Draco was sure of: he would not end up in the hospital wing this time.

The more he thought about it, the happier he got. He had done this before. He knew what to do and what not. He would be able to show off and get tons of house points. The era of Hermione Granger, the insufferable know it all, was over. He knew he was being petty, but who cared?

On the way to Hagrid's hut, Draco dully noted that Weasley and Granger were not talking to each other.

"Trouble in paradise?" he laughed. He couldn't help himself. Crabbe and Goyle could be heard snickering behind him.

"Shut it, Malfoy," growled Weasley. Granger and Potter just looked gloomy.

Hagrid was already waiting for his students at the door of his hut with Fang sitting next to him. The half giant was giddy to begin his first lesson.

They all followed Hagrid to a kind of paddock.

"Everyone gather 'round the fence here!" he called. "That's it – make sure yeh can see – now, firs' thing yeh'll want ter do is open yer books."

The students all looked at each other.

"How?" Granger asked carefully.

"Eh?" said Hagrid.

"How do we open the books?" Pansy asked, holding up a book which was bound by an excessive amount of belts.

Draco had to grin, Slytherins and Gryffindors might not like each other but they were united in their inability to open their textbooks.

Everyone went really quiet, the students all looking at Hagrid, holding their constrained books. Draco saw the crestfallen look on Hagrid's face and decided to help him out. And show off a bit. Mostly show off, he had to admit. He got out his copy of _The Monster Book of Monsters_ , stroked the book's spine and opened it.

"Wow Draco, how did you do that?" That was Pansy.

"It's not that hard," Draco said and took Hermione's book. "You just have to pet them."

With that he ran his fingers down the spine of Hermione's book, opened it and handed it back to her with a smug grin on his face. "See? Easy."

It felt good, knowing something that know-it-all Granger didn't know. Granger, for her part, looked quite sullen.

His classmates, however, looked quite impressed.

"5 points ter Slytherin," Hagrid mumbled, partly grateful, partly physically pained that he had to give points to Slytherin. What a tragedy.

The lesson went on the way Draco remembered it. When Hagrid introduced the Hippogriffs, Draco recited a few basic facts about them, earning Slytherin another 3 points.

"Wow, how do you know so much about them," Pansy asked.

"Read about them," Draco shrugged. "Was bored during the summer holidays," he added as an afterthought. He had to be careful if he wanted to stay under the radar. As much as he enjoyed it, he couldn't suddenly excel at everything. Defending Potter the other day had already been too risky. A similar level to Hermione would be okay, but anything beyond that might arouse unwanted suspicions. 

So when Hagrid asked "Who wants ter go first?" Draco pinched Neville in the side. This made the boy squeak and jump which Hagrid obviously interpreted as him volunteering. Perfect.

Neville, looking very unhappy about the whole affair, followed the instructions to a T, flying over his cheering classmates' heads.

"Good work, Neville!" roared Hagrid as everyone cheered when he had landed again. "Okay, who else wants a go?"

Emboldened by Neville's success, the rest of the class cautiously climbed into the paddock. Hagrid untied the Hippogriffs and soon people were standing around bowing nervously.

Crabbe and Goyle threw their books aside and approached Buckbeak whereas Draco had decided to try his luck with another Hippogriff. Just to be on the safe side.

He didn't show it, but he was nervous. Terribly so. In his memory, the accident was probably worse than it had really been, but it had instilled a fear in him that he had never been able to get rid of. 

"Hello there," he greeted the creature in front of him. "I am not here to hurt you so it would be nice if you returned the favour."

He glanced over to Crabbe and Goyle. Buckbeak had bowed to Crabbe who was now patting his beak, looking rather disdainful.

Draco was just about to bow down when he heard him say, "This is very easy." The words made Draco freeze in place, as he recognized them instantly as his own from several years ago. "Knew it was if an idiot like Longbottom could do it... "


	4. Chapter 4

_Emboldened by Neville's success, the rest of the class cautiously climbed into the paddock. Hagrid untied the hippogriffs and soon people were standing around bowing nervously._

_Crabbe and Goyle threw their books aside and approached Buckbeak whereas Draco had decided to try his luck with another hippogriff. Just to be on the safe side._

_He didn't show it, but he was nervous._

_"Hello there," he greeted the creature in front of him. "I am not here to hurt you so it would be nice if you returned the favour."_

_He glanced over to Crabbe and Goyle. Buckbeak had bowed to Crabbe who was now patting his beak, looking rather disdainful._

_Draco was just about to bow down when he heard him say, "This is very easy." The words made Draco freeze in place. "Knew it was if an idiot like Longbottom could do it... "_

At that Draco jumped into action, or rather, fell into action. Turning around mid-bow had not been a good idea, and Draco toppled over, only to land at the feet of his Hippogriff. This startled the animal. So much so that Draco could roll away only just in time before its talons came crushing down.

The animal was still wild, thrashing and kicking with its hooves. Draco crawled away from it, his eyes never leaving the dangerous creature out of sight. His hands felt the hard ground underneath him quaver, and suddenly, it wasn't ground at all that he was feeling, but something soft that felt like leather. Too late did Draco realize that he had crawled right into a stack of abandoned books. 

"Bet you're not dangerous at all, are you?" he heard Crabbe drawl, before pain shot up Draco's left leg and he yelped in pain.

His eyes shot towards a book that was clawing at his left leg. He shook his leg, but the book would not let go. Suppressing the urge to cuss and scream, he hopped over to Crabbe, the book's teeth still deep in Draco's calf.

"Aren't you, you ug-"

"Crabbe!" Draco yelled, interrupting his young friend.

Crabbe stopped mid-sentence and turned towards Draco.

Draco was momentarily at a loss for words. "Uhm... your stupid book attacked me! Get it off me," he muttered, the pain having already turned into anger.

Crabbe and Goyle looked at each other, then at his leg. Then they started laughing. Soon the other Slytherins standing around them started laughing too. Meanwhile, the book was still gnawing at his leg, and Draco was glaring daggers at anyone around him.

Eventually, Pansy patted the book and saved Draco. Although tears were streaming down her cheeks because she had laughed so hard, she succeeded in asking him whether his leg was alright.

"It's alright," Draco hissed. It hurt like hell but he wasn't going to admit that to anyone.

Overall and even though he would be the laughing stock of Hogwarts for the next few days, Draco was still quite happy with how the class went. If anything, the incident had shown him that it was possible to change the past. No innocent Hippogriff had to die. Neville, who was looking his way when they made their way back to the castle, was celebrated by his classmates. And most importantly, he had not ended up in the hospital wing. He counted that as a complete success.

* * *

 

Draco spent the rest of the day in the library, hiding from his probably still laughing friends and reading up on curses, healing and the family history of the sacred 28. He concluded that he'd probably have to become a healer to save Astoria. To do that he would need excellent grades in Charms, Potions, DADA, Transfiguration and Herbology. Arithmancy could not hurt either. He already was quite apt with Potions, Transfiguration, Charms and DADA. His Arithmancy and Herbology skills were lacking, however.

He was convinced that if he devoted his time to studying, became a healer and made the right connections, he would be able to save his wife. The alternative was unthinkable.

He briefly thought about meddling with the war, taking on a more active role. Things had not gone ideally for Draco, and his knowledge of the future could make him the Dark Lord's most trusted follower. His parents would not fight so much, they would not lose so much status. None of his friends and family would have to die. The world would be his. But the thought sickened him. The Dark Lord had committed atrocious acts. No matter how he felt about politics, he would not wish the Dark Lord's wrath on his worst enemy. Not anymore. Not now that he knew what his wrath looked like.

He could, of course help the other side bring down Voldemort. A thought that did not bother him as much as he would have expected. They were not, and would never be, his friends, but he would still rather have Dumbledore call the shots than the Dark Lord. He'd rather endure muggle borns in school than use DADA to torture them.

However, he ultimately decided against meddling with the timeline. His knowledge was limited. He had not been present for many of the key events, did not know why Potter was ultimately able to defeat the Dark Lord. And he would probably end up making things a lot worse. Perhaps knowledge he shared would have the Dark Lord believe that his father or Snape were spies, because where else would he have gotten such information? And then he would kill them, and Draco knew that he could not live with any more guilt that he already did. He would try to save lives if he could, without interfering with bigger events.

More importantly, the Dark Lord would not come back anytime soon, so for now he did not need to think about the ethical issues that time travel brought along.

He buried his head in Herbology books. Better start with his worst subject.

He had been reading for an hour when he felt more than saw someone staring at him. He lowered his book and nearly suffered a heart attack when he saw Neville Longbottom standing right in front of him.

"Longbottom," he said, trying to hide his surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Longbottom just stood there, hand-wringing, eyes wide. "I… uhm…"

"Speak in full sentences," Draco drawled, wondering just how scared the boy was of him.

"I wanted to know why you pinched me earlier today," he finally managed to get out.

Draco studied him, considering his options. He hadn't expected that. And he had no real reason why he had done it. He just thought that Longbottom needed work on his self-confidence a little. And he needed someone to take the attention away from him. Which would have probably worked better if he hadn't almost been devoured by a book.

He tried to come up with a good excuse but couldn't find one. "I thought it would do you some good?" he finally said, grinning, more to hide his real thoughts than to make him squirm, which it did. "I'm sure the hat put you into Gryffindor for a reason."

He thought over these words, and even though they were not his real motive, he found that they were not untrue either. He definitely did not think Longbottom particularly brave the first time he was 13 but after seeing Longbottom stand up to the Dark Lord himself and slay Nagini he knew that the hat hadn't made a mistake.

Longbottom looked at him, his eyebrows raised.

"See, it already worked. You are here talking to me," Draco continued. He thought he was being quite funny. Longbottom didn't look like he felt the same way.

"Okay… but why?"

"Eh?"

"You hate me! Why are you suddenly so…," he motioned with his hands, trying to find the right word, "nice?" he finally asked what had been on his mind all day.

He was quite perceptive, Draco had to give him that. It was always the quiet ones that noticed everything.

Draco was not sure how to answer that, so he decided to go with another half-truth.

"First of all, don't say that I'm nice. Someone might hear you. Secondly, a person who is very dear to me is very sick. Things like that make one reevaluate things. Made me realize what's really important."

Neville nodded.

"Don't tell my father, but I'm thinking of becoming a healer," Draco whispered, pointing to the books in front of him. "Maybe I can help them."

"I… I understand that. I have sick relatives too. I'd do everything to make them better. It's one of the reasons why I like Herbology so much. Plants have the power to heal. I just haven't found the right one yet."

"Your parents?" Draco asked sympathetically, surprising Neville.

"Yeah... you know?" Neville sat down opposite of Draco. He looked uncomfortable.

_Ups_. Draco hadn't known at that age. He really needed to be more careful.

"Yeah… Bellatrix… she's my aunt. I'm sorry Neville."

"It's alright," he said, not looking at Draco but at the table between them. "I visit them as often as I can. Do you think they'll ever find a cure?"

Draco knew that they wouldn't but he also knew that no one had ever really looked into finding one. Neville's parents were unique. The Death Eaters had hardly ever let any of their victims survive. Not that Bellatrix had let Neville's parents live, she had been caught before she could kill Alice and Frank Longbottom.

"I don't know," Draco finally replied. But there was nothing wrong with hope, so he added, "but I know that Professor Snape has created a potion that helps with the immediate after effects of the Cruciatus. It helps prevent nerve damage. Maybe it can be further developed to heal already existing damage."

Neville's face lightened up, eyes fixed on Draco. "I've never heard of something like that. So there really might be hope?"

"Hmhm. You wouldn't have heard of it. He invented quite a few spells and potions but I don't think he ever published anything."

"Could you… Could you ask him about it?"

Draco wanted to ask why he didn't just ask him himself but felt stupid immediately. His godfather hated Neville Longbottom. Always had, always would. He wasn't sure why. Maybe his godfather saw some of himself in the boy. No friends, bullied by other students. Draco wasn't sure though. With the mystery that his godfather was, there was always the possibility of more being at work. Or maybe it really was the boy's lack of potions skills.

"What would you do with that kind of information? You suck at potions." He immediately regretted saying that, when he saw the boy's face fall. Being a father, Draco just could not stomach such hurt in children anymore. And he needed help. "Tell you what, you help me out with Herbology and I help you with your potions and ask Snape for you?"

"You'd do that?"

"Sure, I do need help with Herbology. My skills there are rather abysmal."

"I never thought I'd say this, Draco, but you are quite alright."

Draco smiled. How surreal all of this was. They spent a long time studying together that day.

* * *

 

Draco didn't know it, but his presence in the past already had its effects. Not just was Buckbeak save and Hagrid could continue teaching the way he wanted to teach, which included fewer flobberworms than Draco remembered, but Neville had also gotten better in Potions, which made the next lesson a lot more peaceful, as Neville made an alright potion and did not have to feed it to his toad. Snape then also did not make fun of Neville in front of everyone during Lupin's first DADA lesson.

Neville, however, still put Snape into his grandmother's clothes during the first DADA lesson, which made Snape bully him even more than he already did. It was then that Draco, who had spent a lot of time studying with the boy, decided that it was time for them to pay their potion's master a visit.

Draco, having a reluctant Neville in tow, carefully knocked on the door of said potion's master. "May I come in, godfather?"

Neville stared at him wide eyed. Draco smirked. Perhaps he should have mentioned the relationship he had with their teacher, but it certainly was more fun that way.

"Draco? Of course, come in," he heard the Professor from the other side of the door.

Snape smiled until his eyes fell behind Draco.

"Mr. Longbottom?" he greeted curtly.

Draco shoved Neville in front of him.

"U-uhm, Professor, I came to apologize for ehm, what I did with the boggart. I am sorry and did not mean to embarrass you." It sounded very rehearsed. Probably because it was. Draco had forced Neville to practice his apology a few times.

Draco felt… positively Slytherin. He knew Snape could not refuse to accept the apology. He could not let a 13-year-old be the bigger man. Least of all Neville Longbottom. Especially not in front of someone else.

Grudgingly, he said, "Apology accepted, Mr. Longbottom. Is there anything else you need?"

Snape looked like he wanted to kick Neville out of his office and Neville took the chance and bolted.

Draco started to snicker and then laugh and then he almost started crying because he laughed so hard. Snape's dumbstruck face only made the situation funnier.

"Draco?" Snape sounded menacing.

"Sorry, godfather."

"What, pray tell, was this about?"

"Ahh…" Draco had done it to help Neville out a bit and too make Snape a bit more agreeable. He could use the peace of mind considering what else would happen in the next months and years. But he also knew that he couldn't tell him that, so he had come up with an explanation before he even started to coerce Neville into his apology.

"A bet amongst us Slytherins," he smirked. "After we heard what Longbottom's worst fear was we wanted to make him squirm. Obviously, I won the bet. Might need to borrow your Pensieve later, in case they do not believe me," he said. For good measure he added a "sir," after a few seconds. "Personally, I also think you deserved this apology after the ungrateful and disrespectful way in which he treated you."

"Well, thank you, Draco. But this is really none of your business and I would appreciate it if you could leave me out of such childish behavior in the future."

"Of course, sir."

Snape's features softened. "Do you want to stay for some tea?"

Draco smiled and nodded. He remembered how he would regularly visit him during his first years at Hogwarts. He bitterly regretted how their relationship had deteriorated in the final years the man had had on this planet. He would try to be nicer this time and maybe get to know the man better.

A house elf brought them some tea.

"How are your parents?"

"They are doing fine. Father sends his regards. He is quite busy at the ministry and mother is preparing a dinner party."

He wasn't sure whether this was true, but his father was always busy and sent his regards and his mother was always planning a social gathering of some sort.

Snape did not find anything suspicious in his answers. He seemed to be eager to find out what Draco thought about the new Defense professor.

"He is alright, I guess," Draco shrugged. "For a Gryffindor who lives on the streets and has an unhealthy obsession for the boy who lives to annoy, that is. Nothing compared to how undeniably brilliant the lessons would have been if the old man had allowed you to teach them but at least he seems to know what he's doing."

Severus nodded, not adding much to the conversation.

"Do you know him, sir?"

"Hardly," Snape replied. "We went to school together."

That was all his professor had to offer on this subject and Draco knew that that was all he would get out of him. Not that Draco had expected him to divulge their complicated relationship or what the new professor was doing at certain times of the month.

"Enough about me," Draco muttered after talking about his classes for another five minutes, "have you been working on anything interesting lately? Any new potions or any spells?"

This seemed to surprise Snape. Draco was not usually one to take an interest in things that did not directly involve him himself.

"Actually, I have been working on improving two year 7 potions over the holidays but unfortunately I will not be able to finish them anytime soon. Brewing potions for the school is taking up more of my time this year than it usually does," he did not sound very happy about this, Draco thought.

"How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Improve potions? Or create your own? It must certainly be very difficult?"

"It is not a skill very many people possess, I admit. But with a bit of hard work, knowledge about different aspects of magical theory and a talent for potions, it is not impossible to learn."

That sounded less daunting than Draco had feared. "Could I learn?"

"You certainly do not lack the talent for potions. I could recommend you some introductory reading if you are interested," Snape offered. He seemed happy enough to share his passion.

"That would be wonderful, sir. How many potions have you created so far?"

"About ten. But I have improved many more."

"That is impressive. Have you thought about publishing a book?"

"I am not doing this for fortune or fame, Mr. Malfoy, and I advise you to find something in life that you enjoy regardless of whether it will bring you either of those things. I also do not have the time for such things."

Draco's face fell a bit. He had never worked in a field just because he liked it. He had just stepped into his father's footsteps and had never even thought about careers that might otherwise interest him. Not that he thought Snape liked his profession. But it had always been obvious that he enjoyed potions, if not the teaching of it. 

"So, how does one go about creating their own potion?" Draco asked, his mind back on the original question.

"Well, that depends on what you want to do with it. Do you want to create a certain effect? Or create an antidote? Or create a healing potion? You need to know the problem that you want to solve and then learn everything about it."

"So, when you, for example, created the potions that helps with the aftereffects of the Cruciatus – you have created such a thing, right?"

He could feel more than see Snape growing suspicious. He had to tread carefully. 

"That would be correct," he said curtly.

"So first you needed to know everything about the curse?"

"Yes- any particular reason this potion has struck your fancy?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, just the first one that came to mind," Draco lied. It was a good thing he was a natural at Occlumency. It would not stop Snape if he really tried to get information out of Draco, but it sufficed to keep his surface thoughts hidden from more gentle probing. 

"Well, yes. I first needed to learn everything about the curse and its effect on the victims…"

Half an hour later Draco knew everything he needed to know about the Cruciatus potion and had gotten a few books about the subject of creating spells and potions.

Before he could leave, however, Snape stopped him with a few questions of his own. Draco had known he wouldn't get off so easily. Severus was generally a rather wary person and he could feel all the questions he had during their conversation and how he had judged Draco's every word.

"Why this sudden interest, Draco?"

"No particular reason," he muttered but Snape would not let him leave this easily.

"You have been acting odd lately."

Draco had decided that if he wanted Snape off his trail he needed something plausible that would be of such a nature that a grown up would leave him alone with it.

"Ehm… err…" he started fidgeting.

"Yes?"

"There… ehm…"

"Out with it, Draco."

"There is this girl I like," he blurted out.

"There… what?"

"A girl. She is not a Slytherin… Please don't tell anyone."

He had practiced this flustered outbreak in front of a mirror the day before. He could see by the look on Snape's face that he had not expected that. He could also see that Snape had no particular interest in learning anymore about this problem. 

"I… I want to impress her."

Snape looked at him for a few seconds. Finally, he said, "if you need any help – with the potions that is – come talk to me."

"Thank you, sir." Draco left the room. He felt delighted. Everything had worked according to plan. He had gotten Neville to apologize, improved his relationship with his godfather and had gotten all the information that he needed. Not bad for one day.


	5. Chapter 5

When Draco left Snape's office, he noticed that Neville had been waiting for him, jumping from one leg to the other, wringing his hands. "Well done, Neville," he said, patting him on the back.

"I think that was the most Gryffindor thing I've ever done," replied a very pale Neville, laughing nervously.

Draco chuckled, "I'm sure Snape'll grow on you... Eventually."

Neville threw him a skeptical look, but did not further comment on Draco's assessment. "I'm just happy we are both still alive... Do you have it?"

"Have what?" Draco asked, smiling innocently.

"Draco!"

"Just puling your leg," Draco laughed. "Of course I have the recipe for Snape's very own Cruciatus potion. Also have a couple of handy books about inventing potions and spells." 

"Wow," Neville sounded astonished, "I don't know what to say. Thank you."

"Don't worry about it," Draco mumbled. What a weird feeling this was, first helping a Gryffindor and then being thanked by one.

* * *

"Hey guys," Draco greeted as he entered the Slytherin common room.

"Hi, Draco. Where are you going?" Pansy asked.

"I wanted to go read a little," he showed them the books he was carrying.

"Ever since we came back from the hols you've been a real swot," she complained.

"Yeah, you never spend any time with us anymore," Goyle added.

Draco did not know what to say. He hadn't anticipated anyone actually missing him. They were, of course, right. During his time at school he had always been surrounded by others. They had not been particularly close, and as an adult Draco would not call their relationship friendship, but as a child everything of course looked differently. And he knew how dependent Crabbe and Goyle and sometimes even Pansy used to be of him. He also remembered his plan to at least try to befriend them, really befriend them, while he was on the train.

"I guess you are right guys," he conceded, putting his books on a table and walking towards them. "I'm sorry."

"Come sit with us for a while," Pansy invited. "My mum sent biscuits."

Only now did he notice that they were all sitting around Pansy, everyone having a biscuit in hand. They were all looking at him expectantly.

"Sure, why not." He sat down next to them and grabbed a biscuit. "Delicious," he said to Pansy who started giggling.

"What have you been up to?" Daphne asked, eyeing his books curiously.

"Snape invited me for tea," Draco half-lied.

"I saw Longbottom in front of his office. You know what he wanted?" Zabini asked, an unusual occurrence for the quiet boy.

"I think I heard him apologizing for the boggart," Draco laughed, and the others joined in. Coming up with a cover story on the spot was easier than he had expected. "Looked like he was about to cry." That was mean, although probably not too far from the truth.

"Guess the wrath of a scorned snake was too much for him," Daphne chuckled.

"Wish I'd seen that," Crabbe mused.

"I didn't think he had it in him," Pansy finally said. "I always thought the fat, little crybaby only ended up in the lion's den because he wouldn't fit in anywhere else. But he seems to have some of that Gryffindor foolishness in him."

"Must have if he's friends with that Potter brat," Goyle mumbled.

The others agreed.

"How did Snape react?" Pansy wanted to know.

"No idea," Draco shrugged.

"I hope he will be in a better mood from now on," she muttered.

"He has been in a bad mood?" Goyle asked.

"Of course  _you_  haven't noticed. You are as thick as a brick," she complained. "Ever since that half-blood Lupin started teaching here he has been quite on edge."

"My mum says Lupin hasn't had a real job in his life. Not that I couldn't have told by the way he looks, but I wonder why that is?" Daphne added.

Draco was getting annoyed by all the bickering. Was that really how he had spent his youth? Badmouthing others? And how dense had he been that he never figured out there was something wrong with their professor? Snape's lecture on werewolves when Lupin was missing right after a full moon and his inability to find a job even though he obviously wasn't stupid should have really given Draco enough clues to figure it out even as a teenager. But he really did not want to discuss it further. "Hey Daphne, how is your sister doing? It's her first year, right?"

Daphne blushed a little as everyone's attention settled on her. "Yeah. Astoria's doing fine, I guess. Our parents are upset she was not sorted into Slytherin."

"It's a shame, really. She would have been a great Slytherin," Pansy chimed in.

"I don't know. She's always been more interested in books than anything else. I'm honestly not surprised she ended up there and I don't know why our parents are," Daphne mused. "But I think the Ravenclaws are not talking to her much because of her connection to our house."

"That's ridiculous," Pansy huffed. "We are wonderful people. They should be happy to be allowed to attend the same school as us."

"We could start hanging out outside our common room more, then Astoria could join us if she wants to," Draco offered.  _And I could spend some time with her_ , his mind added.

"What a wonderful idea," Daphne was delighted.

"Maybe that will show others that we don't eat people from other houses," Pansy said.

"As long as they are not Gryffindors..." mused Zabini and everyone started laughing.

Draco spent the rest of the day in the Slytherin common room, socializing with his peers. He talked about Quidditch with Nott, Crabbe and Goyle, and played a round of Exploding Snap with Zabini and the girls.

* * *

Time passed quickly. Draco spent a lot of time studying and researching with Neville. Or practicing Quidditch, which was one thing he had missed about school. As a grown up you just didn't get to play much Quidditch anymore. It was nearing the end of October and their first match was approaching quickly. Flint was making them practice extra hard, no matter the weather. And the weather was pretty bad. When he wasn't practicing or studying, he spent time with his housemates.

"And you are sure you don't mind if she joins us?" Daphne asked.

"Not a bit," Pansy chirped.

Crabbe and Goyle just shrugged their shoulders.

"I don't mind, either," Draco said. He had been hoping to get a chance to get closer to his future wife, get to know a different side of her. Maybe they could be friends until they were old enough to be dating.

"Uh- be quiet, there she comes!"

Light brown curls, freckles and hazel eyes greeted them. "H-Hello."

Draco's heart skipped a beat and he felt like the teenager he was.

"Hi, Tory! These are my friends, you know some of them already, but this is Pansy, those are Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, this is Blaise Zabini and he over there is Draco Malfoy," introduced Daphne. "Guys, this is my sister Astoria."

A lot of hand shaking, and small talk followed.

They had decided to meet outside their dorm once a week so their non-Slytherin friends – which really only was Daphne's Ravenclaw sister Astoria – could join them. They had wanted to meet outside but the weather just wouldn't allow it. So now they were in the library. The others hadn't noticed, but Draco had cast a silent Muffliato so they wouldn't get kicked out immediately.

"Hi Astoria. We already met at the train station but it's nice to officially meet you," Draco said as soon as he got the chance to talk to Astoria without the others listening. As far as he remembered, he had never met the Greengrass sisters before Hogwarts. They might have been at some of the same dinner parties, but back then Draco had mostly played with Crabbe and Goyle, and not so much with the girls present at such parties. 

"Thanks. It's nice to meet you, too."

"How do you like Hogwarts so far?"

"I love it! The classes are fascinating. I like Charms, Defense and Potions. Say- is Professor Snape always this… grumpy?"

Draco chuckled. "I wouldn't call his personality overly friendly on the best of days, but he has been in a foul mood lately." He shrugged. "I'm sure he'll calm down. How do you like to be in Ravenclaw?"

He could see her face fall.

"No one there seems to like me much. I asked the hat to put me into Slytherin so I could be with Daphne but it said I wouldn't be happy there… The only one who talks to me is this weird girl, Lena or something…"

"Luna?"

"Yeah, that's the one. But my sister said I shouldn't talk to her. Her family is full of blood traitors and she is really weird, she says. And no one else seems to be talking to her, either."

"Do you like her?"

"She seems nice," Astoria answered.

"Then don't listen to what others tell you. Try to judge people on their personalities. Befriend who you want to befriend. Your sister loves you, that's not going to change. And as soon as the other Ravenclaws see that you are not an evil spy for Slytherin they will come around. You are smart – they like that. And if they don't you are always welcome to hang out with us."

Astoria gave this some thought, then she started to smile. "Thank you, Draco."

"You're welcome."

* * *

That Sunday marked their first visit to Hogsmeade. Even though the weather was bad, Draco enjoyed the trip with his housemates immensely. It felt like visiting Diagon Alley with his son for the first time. Everyone was excited like if it had been Christmas. The air of excitement was contagious. He bought a year's supply of candy at Honeydukes. Only Crabbe and Goyle bought more. He bought a new quill at Scrivenshaft's and books Snape had recommended but which weren't in the library at Tomes and Scrolls. They visited Zonko's – but he left when he saw the Weasleys arrive with an evil glint in their eyes directed towards him. Then he went to Spinwitches Sporting Needs for some new Quidditch equipment.

When they entered the Great Hall later that day, it was decorated with hundreds and hundreds of candle-filled pumpkins, a cloud of fluttering live bats, and many flaming orange streamers, which were swimming lazily across the stormy ceiling like brilliant water snakes.

The food was delicious. But Draco could not shake the feeling that the Weasley twins were watching him while he was drinking his pumpkin juice. But he was probably just imagining things.

The feast finished with an entertainment provided by the Hogwarts ghosts. The popped out of walls and did some formation gliding. The Gryffindor ghost reenacted his own beheading.

Suddenly, Draco felt dizzy. His vision blurred and when everything came back into focus, everyone at the Slytherin table was dead quiet and staring at him.

Draco gulped. Glancing over at the Gryffindor table he saw the twins faces growing red from the effort it took them not to laugh.

"Your hair," whispered Daphne.

Draco had a bad feeling about this. He grabbed a spoon and looked at his own reflection.

"Oh no," he groaned.

The first thing he noticed was his nose, because it was so much bigger than anything else in the spoon's reflection. It was freckled! Malfoys did not have freckles!

He moved the spoon further away to see more of his face.

His hair! It was red.

Draco felt his cheeks burning with embarrassment and the anger bubbling inside him.

He could hear the other houses noticing his problem – they started laughing.

Draco took a deep breath. His younger self would have flipped out and threatened people with his father. And his teenage hormones and temper were in favor of this solution. But his grown-up self knew better. He knew making a fuss would only make the situation worse than it already was and he knew exactly that that was what the twins wanted.

"Oh, we are going to kill them," Goyle said, jumping up, followed by Crabbe.

Draco took another calming breath. "No," he said very calmly. Then he stood up and walked over to the Gryffindor table.

The laughing table quieted down. The twins had tears in their eyes. "May we help you, Malfoy?" one of them asked.

"Well," Draco said, loud enough so everyone could hear because he knew everyone was listening and watching, "I was looking at my reflection and thought, red hair and freckles – I must be a Weasley."

It seemed like the students did not know how to handle a Slytherin making a joke. It surprised Draco that the first ones to laugh were the perpetrators themselves. Fred and George started laughing like maniacs and the other students started to laugh as well.

"And suddenly," Draco continued, "I felt the urge to do something reckless like go for a midnight stroll in the Forbidden Forest or drive a flying car to school."

Again, everyone chuckled. Draco risked a glance at Potter and Weasley. Potter seemed amused while Weasley was looking furious.

"Long lost brother," one of the twins cried. "We missed you so much," the other added.

"What is this commotion?" drawled a voice from behind them.

It was Snape, followed by McGonagall.

"Nothing, nothing," one of the Weasleys said, now standing beside Draco.

The other put an arm around Draco. "Just helping our brother here celebrate his inner Weasley."

Draco could tell on them, but he decided it would probably be better if they owed him a favor. He would get back at them later.

"That's right, professor. Apparently, I've been in the wrong house my entire life."

"We demand a resorting," the Weasleys said in unison.

The pair of professors was just staring at them blankly.

"The feast is over," McGonagall finally announced,"prefects, lead the students back to their houses."

Draco walked back to his dorm.

"Wow Draco, that was really amazing," was the first thing Pansy said.

"Yeah," Nott agreed, "how you made everyone laugh at the Weasleys instead of at you was really awesome."

"But Draco," Zabini said, "you look really stupid with red hair."

* * *

While the others were celebrating Draco's handling of the Weasley-situation, Draco was worried. The red-hair-incident hadn't happened the first time around.

What had he changed? What else would be different? He did not feel like he had done anything extraordinary that would alter the time line, but how was he supposed to know what was important and what wasn't? He barely even remembered his third year, only the bigger events, like Sirius Black braking into Hogwarts or the Dementor prank pulled on Potter.

Barely back in their common room, their prefects rushed in, their faces pale and sweaty, and told everyone to go back to the Great Hall.

"Do we really have to?" Millicent groaned.

"Now," was the only response she got.

The younger years started to move first. Soon everyone was on their way back.

Draco walked with Crabbe and Goyle. Pansy and Daphne hurried through the crowd to catch up with them.

"What do you think is going on?" Daphne asked the group.

"Something horrible, probably," Pansy theorized.

"Well," Draco said, aware of the most probably cause of their sudden forced departure, "I hope you guys will take good care of me."

"Why?" asked Crabbe.

"Because," he let his hand wander through his long, red hair, "as one of Potter's best friends, Sirius Black might want to kill me, too."

He kept on walking, leaving his baffled friends behind. It was a bit morbid, joking about an alleged mass murderer killing him, but Draco didn't much care.

In the Great Hall they caught up with him again.

"What do you mean?" whispered Pansy frantically. "You don't mean- You don't mean to say he's here, do you?" she laughed hysterically.

Draco didn't answer, just motioned his head towards Dumbledore, as once all the students were in the hall and all the doors were closed, he started to explain. Although explain might have been an exaggeration. "The teachers and I need to conduct a thorough search of the castle. I'm afraid that, for your own safety, you will have to spend the night here. I want the prefects to stand guard over the entrances to the hall and I am leaving the Head Boy and Girl in charge."

He then proceeded to conjure sleeping bags.

"Seriously?" Pansy screeched. "We are supposed to sleep here? On the floor? And he doesn't even offer an explanation? Why do they need to search the castle?"

"I reckon Draco is right: Black is in the castle. Why else would they act like this?" Daphne offered.

"But he was a follower of  _Him_ …" Goyle whispered, "He wouldn't hurt any Slytherins, right?"

Draco looked at Goyle for a second. "He spent what - 12 years? - in Azkaban. I've heard that half the prisoners lose their minds after staying there for only a week. There is no telling what he would or wouldn't do." 

"Everyone into their sleeping bags!" The head boy yelled over the excited chatter of the students. "Come on, now, no more talking! Lights out in ten minutes!"

Somehow, Draco was glad this had happened. It meant he hadn't changed things too much. It meant things might still happen the way he remembered them.

Draco could see that his friends were scared. They were 13 and knew that a mass murderer was in their home, of course they were scared. He knew that none of them would be sleeping very well that night.

"How did he get in?" Daphne whispered. "I thought Hogwarts was supposed to be safe."

"Maybe he apparated in?" Goyle reckoned.

"No," Pansy answered. "No one can apparate inside or outside of Hogwarts."

"Maybe he came in disguise. Polyjuice or something," theorized Daphne. "Or he might have just flown in on a broom."

"Maybe," Draco muttered, but he doubted it. He looked at his hair. It was starting to lose its color. Another 30 minutes and he was sure he would be a proper Malfoy again.

"Can't we just give him Potter? That's what he wants, right?" Crabbe suggested.

"Crabbe," Daphne said indignantly.

"What? It's true. I can't be the only one to think like that," he defended himself.

"The lights are going out now!" shouted the head boy. "I want everyone in their sleeping bags and no more talking!"

The candles all went out at once. But the quiet chattering went on for a very long time.

* * *

The following week the school talked about nothing else. What - or who - was Sirius Black after? How did he get out of Azkaban? How did he get into Hogwarts? What was he going to do now? Where was he hiding?

With every conversation Draco listened to, the theories got wilder and wilder. He once heard a second year Ravenclaw tell everyone how Sirius Black was a ghost and had come through the walls. A Hufflepuff told everyone how he was a vampire. And someone told him Black could turn into a flowering shrub.

If it hadn't been so serious, Draco would have found it funny. Granted, he had an advantage over everyone else – he knew no one would die. At least not this year.

* * *

"How is life in Gryffindor tower?" he asked Neville, when he met him in the library on Friday. It was the day Snape had taught Defense. Draco could remember that day clearly and was again relieved that things were still happening the way he remembered them.

Neville looked miserable. "They replaced the Fat Lady with this lunatic, Sir Cadogan – you know, that guy who bothers you on the way to Divination?"

Draco nodded. He knew the guy although he wasn't taking Divination. He already knew more about the future than Divination could ever teach him.

"He changes passwords twice a day! How is anyone supposed to remember that?" Neville complained.

"I'm sure he is just worried about your safety," Draco offered, but found the thought of that crazy knight as a guardian highly amusing. And Neville forgot the password all the time anyway so not much had actually changed.

"And he always challenges me to a duel," Neville continued his rant.

"Have you ever dueled him?" Draco asked, amused.

"Well, no. He is only a painting. You can't duel a painting, can you?"

Draco just shrugged. "Why don't you just organize someone else to guard the entrance?"

"No one wants to... after what happened to the Fat Lady," Neville sighed.

That stopped his rambling, for now. Draco took a deep breath. The following weeks were not going to be easy.


	6. Chapter 6

The Quidditch team trained every day and the weather got worse steadily. None of the players wanted to but Flint made them practice harder than ever. The only positive thing was that this way Draco did not have time to miss his family like he usually did or contemplate the crappy decisions he had made throughout his life.

It was incredibly windy, and it rained heavily when they had their first match of the year: Gryffindor versus Slytherin. Even at noon it was dark, with the wind blocking the sun almost completely, and the wind was howling. Draco did not remember ever playing under such horrible weather conditions.

Draco was in a bad mood when he made his way, head bowed down, fighting against the wind, towards the Quidditch pitch on Saturday, the day of the match. He wasn't surprised that even though the weather was the way it was the whole school was watching the match. That was how popular Quidditch was and Gryffindor vs Slytherin always drew a large crowd.

When they all walked onto the pitch he knew the crowd was cheering but he couldn't hear them over the loud howling of the wind. Before the game even began he was already soaked and half frozen.

The captains shook hands, Hooch blew her whistle and the game began.

Draco could barely keep his broom steady, but he wasn't the only one. He could see Potter struggling and squinting. He probably couldn't see anything through his glasses.

"Problems, Potter?" he laughed.

"Shut up, Malfoy," was the response, which Draco found highly amusing.

Thunder and lightning soon made the game even more dangerous.

30 minutes into this horrible match, Draco could hear Wood yell, "Harry, behind you!"

Draco looked over to Harry and they both saw the Snitch – which was right between them – at the same time.

They both rushed towards it. The Snitch went up higher and they both followed. They were practically side by side, so it was hard for Draco to estimate who would reach the Snitch first, when suddenly everything went cold. Cold and suspiciously quiet. The Dementors were getting closer.

"Darn," Draco muttered. His last encounter with those wretched beasts had not gone well, and if he fainted now he would probably fall to his death. And so, Draco remembered with a glance at his opponent, would the savior of the Wizarding world.

Still racing towards the Snitch, Draco searched for his wand. He could see Potter losing his concentration and he noticed his own vision blurring as he started hearing the screams of every muggle born that had ever been tortured at Malfoy manor.

His hands were shaking. He tightened his knees around his broom and used one hand to reach for the other boy, keeping him on his broom when he seemed to be losing consciousness. He used the other hand to raise his wand.

He thought of Astoria and the first time he saw their son in her arms. "Expecto Patronum!" he yelled. A blinding light filled the air for a second. It wasn't much but enough to make the cold go away. He had never been able to produce a fully corporal patronus but he had worked on it after the war. It had been a therapeutic experience.

He pocketed his wand again. The Snitch was right in front of him. He reached for it. The moment his fingers closed around the Snitch, something pulled him back.

Harry had lost his broom and his weight was, as Draco was still holding on to him, pulling them both down.

"Malfoy," Potter yelled. At least he hadn't fainted. He wriggled out of Draco's grasp, slinging his arms around Draco's legs, pulling Draco off his broom. At least Draco now had both hands free to clutch at his broom.

They were nearing the ground at a dangerous speed. Not as fast as they would have been free falling but still fast enough to cause some serious damage among impact. Racing brooms weren't made for two people. And the weather did not make holding onto a piece of wood for his dear life any easier.

"Can you climb up and hold onto the broom?" he yelled. If Potter held on to the broom instead of him, it would not slow their descent, but at least Draco would stand a better chance of not falling to his death.

He was surprised Harry actually managed to do what he was told. Potter clawed his fingers into Draco, slowly climbing up until his fingers reached the broom, finally letting go of Draco.

"Put your weight forward a bit!" Draco instructed, and Harry immediately caught on.

The broom was no longer free falling straight out of the sky but somewhat diagonally. Harry hit the ground running while Draco stumbled and then rolled in the mud. The crowd was silent, shocked.

Draco looked over to Harry, who seemed to be alright. Draco stayed on the ground, his arm hurt like hell. Which reminded him…

He lifted his other arm and opened his hand slowly, revealing the Snitch.

It took a second for everyone to catch on to what happened, but soon everyone on the Slytherin side started to cheer.

Crabbe and Goyle landed next to Draco and soon the whole team was around him, cheering.

"Awesome," Flint yelled, landing right next to him.

"Yeah," Draco agreed, "I'm the best. Now can someone please get Madam Pomfrey?"

* * *

 

Draco spent the rest of the day in the infirmary, which he found blatantly unfair. Potter hadn't even had a scratch, although the whole thing had been more or less his fault. But he had ended up with a broken arm and a mild concussion. And his broom got destroyed. At least Potter's broom hadn't fared any better. That was a mild compensation.

At least the whole of Slytherin had visited him. They had been ecstatic, to say the least. Because Draco couldn't join their celebrations they had decided to bring the celebration to him – at least until Madam Pomfrey kicked them out.

"They don't even want a rematch," Flint cheered. "Potter said you caught the Snitch before he fell off his broom so even Wood agrees we won fair and square."

Draco was quite glad no one knew what had really happened. Everyone assumed his patronus had been lightning and that Potter fell of his broom and held on to Draco. This was quite alright with him. He wanted to be the Slytherin hero who even though he got assaulted by a hundred dementors and a Gryffindor's clumsiness, still managed to catch the Snitch and win the game.

He had a few surprise visits. One of which was Neville Longbottom. He gave him a potted plant and wished him a quick recovery. Another were the Weasley twins who left him, while he slept, a pack of candy which Draco was sure he would never eat. Perhaps he could somehow get Potter and the Weasel to eat them. It also served to remind him that he had to come up with a way to get back at the twins for the hair incident. Daphne visited him too, which wasn't so surprising as almost every Slytherin came by at some point, but she was accompanied by her sister Astoria, which made his day infinitely better.

Towards the end of the day, Harry Potter stopped by the infirmary, making sure that no one else was around to see him.

"Hi," he mumbled.

"Potter," Draco nodded his head.

Potter looked very out of place and uncomfortable. Served him right.

"I- although you probably didn't mean to save me or anything, but you still did so-"

"Get to the point," Draco growled.

"Thanks for saving my butt. I don't know what would have happened if I had fallen and you hadn't been there… I'm sorry about your broom, too."

"Don't mention it," Draco replied. "I mean it, don't."

"Don't worry. I won't mention it. Would ruin my reputation as well as yours," he chuckled, "Some people think you pushed me of my broom. But most think I fainted because of that lightning and held onto you… Well, thanks, anyway."

When Harry didn't leave immediately, Draco asked, "Anything else?"

"I just don't get why they affect me so much! No one else seems to have this problem. Well, besides you on the train, but you seem to have gotten over it."

"Not really," Draco mumbled. "There are things you can do about them but you should ask a Professor about it. Maybe Lupin, Defense is his forte."

Potter thanked Draco again and then left.

It had been a long and taxing day and Draco was happy when at last everyone was gone and he could enjoy the piece and quiet of an almost empty infirmary.

* * *

 

"What are we looking for again?"

"Hypericum... it's a plant," answered Neville. A few weeks had passed since the Quidditch match, and Neville and Draco were walking through the Forbidden Forest.

Draco looked at him with a blank face.

"Just look for a yellow flower."

"Fine, but why exactly?"

"I read up on the theory behind the usage of plants and herbs in potions in that book Snape gave you and I had an idea... say do you ever listen to me?" the boy scoffed.

"Ehm sure," Draco shrugged. "Sometimes," he added, grinning.

"Git," Neville said, which made Draco laugh.

"I can't see anything yellow here, let's go deeper into the forest."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Neville looked very pale. "We shouldn't be here anyways."

"What's the worst that could happen?"

"We could get eaten by a Werewolf," Neville said nervously.

Draco laughed. "Werewolfs? Really?" The chances of being eaten by one inside the castle were significantly higher than out here. 

"Snape-"

"I know what Snape said in DADA but it's not even a full moon today and it's not even dark yet. If there is a werewolf in the forest – and I'm not saying that that is the case – he would be just as human right now as you and I. We both have our wands. We'll be fine."

"If you say so," Neville begrudgingly followed Draco deeper into the Forbidden Forest.

"Are those your Hyperboles?"

"Hypericum. And yes I think you're right. Let's collect a few," Neville instructed.

"Yes, Sir," Draco mocked but started collecting the yellow flowers.

The magic that ran through the Forbidden Forest led to flowers blooming a lot longer than they would anywhere else in the UK.

After a while, Neville turned towards Draco. "Uhm, Draco?"

"Hmm?"

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" he stayed quiet for a few seconds, listening. "I'm not hearing anything."

"No, I'm sure I heard something. Behind that bush over there," Neville whispered.

Draco got up and threw his flowers at Nevillle.

"Ehm, what are you doing?"

"Checking that noise out, it is probably just a Niffler or a Puffskein or something," he made his way towards the bush.

He was positive that his younger self would have been scared senseless but after having been through a war he was quite certain he could fight whatever was lurking in the Forbidden Forest.

He was prepared for many things. Thestrals, trolls, dementors, unicorns,… but he wasn't prepared for what he found when he pushed the branches of the bush aside.

A man with a mass of long, filthy hair and torn and dirty clothes was crouching on the ground, eating plants. He looked awful. He was skinny and had huge dark rings under his eyes, which, Draco noticed, were now looking at him.

"Sirius Black," he gasped, reaching for his wand. He knew Sirius was not the killer the Daily Prophet would like everyone to think he was. So, he really didn't have to fear the man, right?

Black tried to flee.

"Stay were you are," Draco yelled, firing a stinging hex at him.

Black turned around and faced Draco. His eyes were wild and crazy.

Draco gulped. "D… Don't move!"

All of a sudden, and Draco didn't think he would have been any more surprised had he jumped into the air and flown off, the man turned into a huge, black dog. Draco wasn't quite so sure about his safety anymore.

He inched backwards and tripped over a root, landing on his butt and losing his wand.

The dog came closer, growling.

That moment, Neville appeared.

"I…I…It's the grim!" he screamed.

"Neville," Draco yelled. "Do something." The dog came closer and closer and he did not dare reach for his wand.

Neville pulled his wand out of his robe and nearly dropped it. "P-Petrificus Totalus!" Neville yelled, but missed. Regardless, it gave Draco enough time to dive for his own wand.

"Stupefy," yelled Draco at the same time as Neville yelled, "Petrificus Totalus." Both spells hit the dog square in the chest.

"Incarcerous!" fired Draco. Thin cords shot from his wand and the next moment, the dog was no longer a dog but an unconscious bound and gagged man.

"Wha-?" Neville was speechless. "No way," recognition dawned on him, "it is Sirius Black!"

* * *

"I think he's waking up," Neville muttered.

Draco inched closer towards the fallen and bound man. He looked awful. He was skinny and had huge dark rings under his eyes, which, Draco noticed, were again looking at him.

"Woah," he jumped back.

"Easy there, kid," Sirius mumbled, sounding rather groggy. "I'm not who you think I am."

"Prison escapee Sirius Black?" Neville asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Well, maybe I am who you think I am," he admitted, snickering. "But I am not what the Prophet portrays me as. I did not kill all those muggles."

"No," Draco ventured, "then who did?"

"Pettigrew," he looked at them expectantly. "Peter Pettigrew," he clarified.

"Peter Pettigrew is dead," Draco said. Of course, he knew that he wasn't. But he wasn't supposed to know.

"He's a rat," Black mumbled. "A rat."

"Mmmm a rat. Definitely. Makes sense," Neville turned away from Sirius and faced Draco. "I think he's lost it," he whispered, "We should call help. Dumbledore, maybe," Neville tried to argue.

"No, wait!" Sirius interrupted. "He's an Animagus. Peter's an Animagus. Just like I am."

"Is that how you got out of Azkaban? You're an Animagus?" Draco asked.

"Yes," the man nodded frantically.

"How about you start at the beginning?"

"How about you untie me first?"

"How about no?"

Sirius face fell. "Okay. Fair enough. I'll tell you what I know."

And so Sirius Black told Draco Malfoy and Neville Longbottom the whole story, from his time at Hogwarts with his best friends, to the murder of James and Lily Potter and betrayal of Peter Pettigrew, to the newspaper article that led to his escape and how he now stayed in the Forbidden Forest and was trying to catch Peter Pettigrew. He also explained how he, when Draco found him, first wanted to flee, but after getting attacked decided to scare Draco off.

"We need to tell someone," said Neville once Sirius had finished his story.

"No," Sirius shook his head. "No one will believe me without any proof."

" _I'm_  not sure  _I_  believe you," Neville said.

"I do," Draco chimed in.

"Thanks, boy," Sirius threw him a smile, before his eyes darkened. "You have to help me kill Pettigrew."

"No!" Neville jumped up, looking appalled. "We're not killing anyone!"

"He has killed Lily and James!" Sirius replied hotly. "He has betrayed his friends and made Harry an orphan!"

"Yes," Neville said, "he has done horrible things. If what you're saying is true, he is a horrible person. But we are not."

Sirius glared at Neville.

"We have to capture him," Draco reasoned. "It's the only way we can proof you are innocent. If you really are innocent."

"I am," growled Sirius. He exhaled slowly. "I am sorry, guys. This is hard for me."

"It's okay," said Neville, calming down as well.

"So, how are we going to capture him?" asked Sirius.

The boys looked at each other.

"We'll think of something."

"Alright. Now that you obviously believe me, can you untie me?"

Draco reluctantly freed the man. He knew he was innocent, but Draco had never heard anything positive said about this man and he seemed a bit unhinged. And murderous.

"Thanks, kid. What are your names, by the way? You look familiar, both of you."

"I am Neville Longbottom and this is Draco Ma-" Draco elbowed him in the stomach.

"Draco… MacDougal," Draco finished.

Sirius eyed him wearily before he turned to Neville.

"Longbottom, eh? I knew your parents. Went to school with them. Good people."

"Really?" Neville's face lit up and for the first time this night he didn't look like he would run away any minute. "Can you tell me about them?"

Sirius face fell and Draco wondered whether the man had known that the Longbottoms weren't happily and healthily living with their son.

"Sure will do, kid. But maybe not today. How about we meet again tomorrow night?"

They went their separate ways.

While the boys picked up the flowers they had dropped earlier, Neville asked, "Do you believe him?"

"Yeah," Draco muttered. "His story makes sense. I wouldn't have believed him if I hadn't seen him transforming into a dog right in front of my very eyes. But he did, so I believe him."

Neville gave this some thought. "What are we going to do about the rat?"

"I have absolutely no idea."

* * *

 

Draco couldn't sleep that night. His plan to stay out of everything had become next to impossible with the discovery of Sirius Black.

Should he tell Potter about it? Or maybe Snape? Or Dumbledore?

Potter was out of question - he would probably do something rash, Gryffindorish. On second thought, so would Snape. He hated Black with a passion. Draco wasn't even sure he would be able to finish his story before Snape would go ballistic. That left Dumbledore. But he wasn't too sure about him either. The man had a way of knowing things and Draco worried Dumbledore would notice something off about him immediately. Maybe as a last resort. For now he would try to avoid the headmaster if he could. 

First, he needed to get the rat. How he was supposed to do that was beyond him.

In the morning, he made his way to the library where he had told Neville to meet him before breakfast.

"Where does the Weasel always keep his rat?" he asked instead of a greeting.

"Well, good morning to you, too, Draco," Neville yawned.

"No time for pleasantries, where does he keep it? Does he take it with him or does he leave it in his room?"

Neville gave this some thought. "His room, I think. I really think we should tell a teacher about this, though."

"Alright," Draco said. "Let's tell Snape about it. I'm sure he'll know what to do."

"S- Snape?" Neville whispered.

"Yeah. Why not? He's my head of house and my godfather. I'm sure he'll help," Draco had a hard time keeping his face straight.

"Ehm- err… Can… Can't we tell someone else?" Neville asked.

"Why? I think Snape is perfect for this."

Neville didn't say anything.

"Let's leave that for a plan B, alright?" Draco finally said. "We'll try on our own first."

"Okay," Neville finally relented. "What is the plan?"

"What do you have first period?"

"Herbology," Neville answered.

"Ok, I have a free period there. Are there any Gryffindors in your common room during the first period, you think?"

"No," Neville thought about it some more, "No, all of them have something in their first period."

"Perfect. You'll tell Sprout that you felt sick this morning. She likes you, so she'll believe it. Then we sneak into your room and catch the stupid rat. Piece of cake."

"What?!" Neville shrieked.

"You tell Sprout you are sick and skip the first period. Then we break into the Gryffindor tower – which wouldn't be much breaking in for you since you live there anyways, but never mind. We catch the rat and get it to Sirius or Dumbledore," Draco repeated.

"You want to lie to our teachers and break into my dorm?"

"Well, technically you'd be the one lying, and I'd be the one breaking in but… yeah, pretty much."

"We can't do this!"

"Why not? Do you have a better plan?" Draco asked.

"N-No. But you're a Slytherin! If anyone finds out I let a Slytherin in, they'll kill me!"

"You don't trust me," Draco asked mock-hurt.

"Well- I- ehm…"

* * *

"It took me another ten minutes to convince him," Draco whined.

"It was a stupid plan to begin with," Neville complained.

Sirius stared at them both, open mouthed. "You are a Slytherin?" he finally asked.

"Yeah," Draco huffed, "got a problem with that?"

"Wait- You are a Malfoy!"

"Yes," Draco took a deep breath. This might take a while.

"Your parents are followers of Voldemort!"

"Well, so were yours," Draco muttered. "You of all people should know one shouldn't judge people on their parents!"

"We can trust him," Neville tried to help, "I think."

"Well thanks, Nev, that's helping," Draco looked at Neville. "It doesn't matter whether you trust us or not, we're the only help you have. Also, I brought you food, but if you think I poisoned it or something, I'll eat it myself."

"Wait!" Sirius seemed to be thinking. "You're talking about real food?"

Draco nodded his head. "Real pumpkin pie and real- hey!"

Draco didn't get to finish his sentence as Sirius had grabbed his bag and was already eating.

"And by the way," Draco continued, "I think we're related. You are my uncle or something. So, nice to meet you or whatever."

"Ok, ok, fine," Sirius muttered while eating. "I'll ignore this obvious miss-sorting for now. Now, do you have the rat?"

"You should slow down a bit," Neville interrupted. "I don't think eating – if you can call what you're doing eating – like that is healthy."

"That's the first real meal I had in… 13 years, come to think of it. Excuse me if my table manners are lacking."

"Fine," Neville sighed. "So, we snuck into Gryffindor-"

"He has the passwords on a sheet of paper," Draco interrupted, "can you believe that?"

"Draco!"

Draco was showing the piece of paper to Sirius.

"Sorry, sorry," Draco muttered. "Go on."

"So we went into our – well mine and Ron's - dormitory – Ron is the guy who the rat belongs to, by the way-"

"Oh my god, Neville. Let me finish the story," Draco interrupted again.

"Fine! I'll never finish it anyways if all you two do is interrupt me!"

"So, we went in and the rat was sitting on the bed. Unfortunately, we had also let that fat orange cat in which immediately jumped on the bed and tried to eat the stupid rat! So I sent a stunner the cat's way but it jumped aside so I only hit a pillow and then there were feathers everywhere. The cat had the rat in its mouth and ran around the room-"

"Draco completely destroyed our dorm with those stunners of his!" groaned Neville.

"Well, at least I did something! You were just standing around."

"I was trying to stop you from ruining everything!"

"I wasn't ruining anything!"

"Oh yeah? What about me bed? And that cupboard? And-"

"Boys! Boys! Calm down. What happened next?"

"One of my stunners hit the cat and it dropped the rat," Draco said.

"That sounds good," Sirius commented carefully.

"Well," Neville continued, "not so much. The rat then hid in a hole in the wall where we couldn't get it out! And we heard a voice coming so we hid under the beds. Someone came in and noticed how trashed everything was. Whoever it was, he immediately went for a professor and we fled while that person was gone."

"But don't worry," Draco added, "we'll get the rat. We won't give up."

"Thanks guys. I know you tried. And I'm sorry I doubted you, Draco," Sirius said, but it was obvious that he was devastated.

"We'll get him," Neville said. "We'll get him and clear your name."

Neville and Draco snuck back into the castle and parted ways.

It was late at night and Draco was almost back in his dorm, when someone grabbed him by the shoulder and he spun around.

He came face to face with...

"Snape!"

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Read, enjoy and review :)

Draco spun around to come face to face with Snape. Draco immediately knew that Snape was angry – angrier than usual – and that he was in trouble.

"My office. Now," growled Snape. His tone left no room for argument.

Draco gulped and followed. This wasn't good. Not good at all. They did not speak on their way to his office. Snape's stride alone showed how mad he was, and Draco kept his head down.

Once in his office, Snape sat down at his desk and studied Draco for a while.

Draco did not know whether to sit down or not. In the end, he decided to sit down because he didn't trust his knees at the moment. He was a grown man, damn it, he wasn't supposed to be so intimidated by his teacher.

After a long, dreadful silence, Snape began to speak. His voice was eerily even and quiet, which only scared Draco more. How could someone even speak so quietly without whispering? "What are you doing out of your dormitory this late at night?"

Draco was at a loss – improvisation had never been his strong suit. He did not really have any friends outside of Slytherin so there was really no good reason for him to be sneaking around late at night.

"Ehm- I met the girl I told you about," he stammered, the only reasonable excuse his mind could concoct at such short notice.

Snape did not say anything. He just kept looking at him. Staring. He obviously did not believe him. Admittedly, his damp hair and dirty shoes might have given his head of house a hint as to where he had really been. "Are you sure that is what you have been doing?" he finally asked.

"Yes, sir," Draco felt dreadful for lying to him and he knew that Snape did not believe him anyhow. But what was he supposed to say? That he had met up with Neville Longbottom and Sirius Black for a midnight chat? He would get kicked out of school before finishing the sentence, assuming Snape would believe the truth any more than his mediocre excuse. The way his godfather looked at him and the silence made him want to confess everything. But he couldn't.

"Tell me Draco, where were you this morning?"

That took Draco off guard. "This- this morning, sir?"

"Don't act stupid," he hissed, for the first time letting his anger show. "This morning. This morning, when someone broke into the Gryffindor dormitories," Snape specified. Draco gulped, this was the end. "And not just any dormitory, but the one of Mr. Potter. Broke in and destroyed the room. This morning, when you were late for your class with Professor McGonagall. Where were you?"

"It wasn't me!" Draco yelled and jumped up. The insinuation irked him, even though it was true.

"Sit. Back. Down," Snape hissed.

"I'm sorry, sir," Draco muttered and did as he was told. "But it really wasn't me! I swear! How would I even get into Gryffindor?" Again, Snape remained quiet. "Please," Draco added, "It wasn't me. You have to believe me."

But by the disappointed look on his godfather's face he could tell that he did not believe him. Draco was not prepared for the next question the professor asked him. "Did you help Sirius Black into the castle?"

Draco opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

"Draco, answer the question," Snape's voice rose.

"No! Of course not!" Draco replied indignantly. The insinuation again rubbing him the wrong way. He realized that it wasn't the thing itself that bothered him, but the fact that it meant the people around him believed him to be capable of assisting a murderer kill one of his classmates. Granted, had he been in Snape's position, he would have drawn the same conclusion. Still, it hurt.

"So, your distraction in the Great Hall on the day he attacked the portrait guarding Gryffindor was just a coincidence? And your odd behavior recently? That you are missing while someone breaks into said room? And that you sneak around at night? In the Forbidden Forest, no less?"

"Yes! I wouldn't do something like that. I don't like Potter, I grant you that, but I don't want to kill him either," Draco replied heatedly. "Maybe I don't care if he gets expelled or humiliated in front of the whole school," although that had not been true for some time now, "but murder is something else entirely."

"Draco," Snape sighed, and Draco could see that he still had not convinced him, "you might think that this is a good idea, maybe even the right thing to do. Something that would make your parents proud. But it is not. What you are doing is dangerous. Not just for Potter, but for you as well. Black is a deranged serial killer who has spent over a decade in Azkaban. He is unpredictable. He could kill you. And aiding him might end with Azkaban for you, too."

Draco took a deep, calming breath, looking Snape straight in the eyes. "I am not helping Black. I swear."

"Your final word?"

"Yes."

Snape considered him again. It was quite clear he did not believe Draco. And Draco had to admit, the evidence against him was strong, perhaps stronger than any words he could utter would ever be. 

The way Snape looked at him made him nervous and he averted his gaze. Draco knew that Snape was a good Legilimens. He could sense that Snape was thinking about just reading his mind. It was clear through the way he looked that he was just one step away from diving into his mind. Easier than reaching a confession through mere talking. Better for the school, the greater good. Perhaps even the right thing to do for a teacher suspecting a student of assisting an alleged mass murderer. Draco wasn't a bad Occlumens but using his abilities would make Snape even more suspicious than he already was and he probably wouldn't be good enough to keep him out anyway. Not stopping him, however, would also be bad. Then he would know everything. About Neville and Black and Astoria and the time travel. Draco was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Snape looked at Draco. Stared him down, even. And then, miraculously, he looked away. "I would advise you to be careful, Draco. Don't do anything stupid. If you need to talk, you can come to me. I will be watching you. If anything else happens, I will inform the headmaster and your parents. You may leave now."

Draco couldn't believe it. Snape let him leave! And he hadn't read his mind.

"Thank you, sir," he whispered and made his way towards the door.

"And Draco?"

"Yes?"

"You will be serving detention with Filch. Every night from now till Christmas. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes, sir," Draco left the office as fast as he could.

He had been let off lightly, which was really just because Snape liked him. Or had liked him. He wasn't sure about that anymore. If he believed that Draco was helping the man who killed the woman he loved, then Draco probably wasn't in his godfather's good books anymore.

The mistrust and disappointment from his godfather burned, and punished Draco more than any detention ever could.

So much for improving his relationship with his godfather, was the last thing he thought before he fell into a troubled sleep.

* * *

 

The next day Draco felt terrible. Snape was watching him everywhere he went, and Draco had a hard time living with the disappointment that was radiating off him. Draco couldn't visit Sirius at night and he couldn't talk to Neville about what happened, too scared he would be caught by Snape. And if Snape caught him there was no telling what he might do. The best case scenario was probably suspension, the worst... Azkaban. The only time Snape wasn't watching him was at night, when he had detention. With Filch. He silently did what Filch told him to do, which was mostly scrubbing bedpans – with his hands. No magic.

The day, in one word, sucked. So, it didn't really surprise Draco when he was woken in the middle of the night by noises coming from the common room. He was disoriented in the darkness and quite moody, but he, like many others in his house, made his way towards the commotion.

"What's going on?" Crabbe yawned. "Is Black in the castle again?"

Draco frowned. That was probably exactly what had happened. Damn, he only hoped Snape didn't connect this to him in any way. He had been under surveillance all day so he couldn't have done anything. But then again, it was quite suspicious that Black broke into the castle again the day after Draco had been sneaking around the Forbidden Forest.

In the common room everyone had gathered around Snape, who looked livid. Draco tried to look extra sleepy and confused.

"Sirius Black," Snape started, ignoring several groans from his audience, "has been seen in the castle. You will stay in the common room until the castle has been searched. The prefects will search your rooms." He glanced at Draco and then swiftly left the common room.

"Not again," a sleepy Pansy complained. "I need my beauty sleep."

He could hear Daphne snort beside her. She made her way through the crowd and stopped next to Draco. "Is it just my imagination or is Snape mad at you?" she whispered.

"Definitely not your imagination," he frowned. "He seems to think that I'm the one letting Black into the castle."

"Wha-," Daphne opened her mouth in shock. "Wait, are you?"

"No," Draco huffed. "Of course not. What kind of idiot do you think I am?"

"Sorry, sorry. It's just, you've been acting a bit strange lately. And you keep disappearing on us."

"Yeah but I'm not working with an insane serial killer! I'm in the library studying. You are welcome to join me anytime you want," Draco defended himself, hoping she would not take him up on his offer because apart from really spending time in the library, he was helping said insane serial killer.

 _Great_ , he thought to himself, Snape wasn't the only one who thought he was assisting a criminal. The day just kept on getting better. Draco was quite glad it was almost over.

They had to stay in the common room till dawn before the search – again fruitless – was over.

* * *

The next day seemed horribly long to Draco. Snape hadn't said anything, but he was still watching his every move. So, he decided to stay among his fellow Slytherins for the day. He was tired and annoyed. Black's behavior was one of the reasons why he was cranky. That man was such an idiot. He wished he could meet up with him and give him a piece of his mind. But security around the castle had been tightened. Flitwick taught the front doors to recognize Sirius Black. Filch was patrolling the corridors and boarding up everything. Security trolls had been hired to patrol the castle. The other reason why he was so annoyed was Ron Weasley. He was the talk of the castle and everywhere he went it was either him telling his story, a slightly different version each time he heard it, or people talking about him.

"Have you heard," was the first thing he heard at breakfast from Pansy, "Sirius Black broke into Potter's dorm and tried to kill Weasley with a knife!"

"How'd he get in?" asked Crabbe, biting into a piece of French toast.

"Apparently that doofus Longbottom let a list lying around with all the passwords on it." This made the whole table laugh and Draco wince. It had been his fault Sirius had the list, after all. "Heard that McGonagall is furious. Gave him detention for the rest of the year, forbid him from going to Hogsmeade ever again and told everyone not to give him the password."

Another round of laughter. Apparently, the whole castle was either laughing at Neville or they were very angry with him.

 _Great, more guilt_ , just what he needed, Draco thought glumly. He had to make it up to Neville later.

* * *

Later that night, he had detention again. Only this time he wasn't alone, there was Neville as well.

"I'm sorry," was the first thing Draco said once they were alone with the cauldrons they had to clean.

"It's okay," Neville said, "It really was stupid to keep a list of the passwords."

Draco felt better immediately. At least one person who wasn't mad at him.

"Draco?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you still think Sirius is innocent?"

"Yes," Draco said, "without a doubt. He is just being an impatient idiot. Not thinking things through... Such a Gryffindor trait," he huffed. "No offense," he added, as an afterthought.

"We should talk to him about it. He can't keep doing things like this!"

"Well, yes. We also need to get the rat. Problem is, Snape caught me yesterday. He thinks I'm helping Black. He has been watching me like a hawk ever since."

"He isn't wrong... We are helping Black. And I thought there was something off about him today. He is quite perceptive."

"Too perceptive," Draco groaned. "What do we do now?"

"I have no idea. Things seem to be getting worse instead of better."

"No kidding."

* * *

The next day, now two days after Sirius' break in, did not start any better, either: The first thing that happened in the morning was that Neville received the worst thing a Hogwarts student could receive over breakfast - a Howler from his grandmother. Draco could see Neville holding the envelop before him like a bomb and sprinting out of the Great Hall. The Slytherin table exploded with laughter at the sight of him. They all heard the Howler go off in the entrance hall. Neville's grandmother's voice, magically magnified to a hundred times its usual volume, shrieking about how he had brought shame onto the whole family.

Draco would have found the whole thing amusing had he not been so angry with Sirius. His shortsighted behavior had caused them more problems than Draco would like to admit. And he was partly at fault too, for showing him the list Neville had been carrying around.

Draco was so lost in his thoughts that he almost didn't realize that a young Ravenclaw was standing next to them.

"Good morning, Astoria," Tracey said good naturedly.

Draco almost spilled his drink when the mentioning of his future wife brought him back to reality.

"Ehm- morning, Astoria," he greeted rather awkwardly.

"Hi, Tory," said Daphne, delighted to see her sister.

"Tomorrow is the Ravenclaw versus Hufflepuff match and I was wondering whether you were going?" she asked hopefully.

The snakes all looked at each other.

"Sure," Daphne finally voiced the groups silent decision.

"Cool," Astoria seemed delighted. "Can I join you?"

"Of course," said Nodd and the others nodded their heads, agreeing with him.

"Thanks," she said and was off with a happy bounce in her step.

"I like that little girl," Nodd said, "too bad she isn't a snake."

Draco couldn't help but agree.

* * *

The thought of spending the next day with Astoria cheered Draco up considerably. Suddenly, the world didn't seem such a dark place anymore and he felt more confident that he would find a way to help Black and find a cure for Astoria. But when he met Neville in detention that night, his whole plan changed once again.

"Tomorrow is the Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw match," was the first thing Neville said when he saw him.

"So I've heard," he said while getting to work on a particularly nasty cauldron.

"That is perfect," Neville continued.

"How so?"

Neville waited, looking at Draco expectantly. But whatever he thought Draco was supposed to get, he did not. "Everyone will be there," Neville finally said. "The whole of Hogwarts. Professors, students,… maybe even Dumbledore. And the weather is supposed to be bad again so there is absolutely no chance anyone would notice if we snuck away for half an hour to talk to Sirius," he finished.

Draco smirked. "Who are you and what have you done to the real Neville?"

"I guess you are a bad influence on me," Neville chuckled.

Draco snickered. "Depends on how you look at it. Personally, I think I am a mighty good influence."

"So?" Neville asked, "what do you say?"

"I think this could very well work," but then his face fell, "but I already promised some people to go to the match with them."

Neville thought about this for a second. "If we leave really early, before the game even begins, we would be back about ten minutes into the game. You could still watch it with them then."

Draco considered this for a while. He really wanted to spend time with Astoria. But he also really needed to talk to Sirius and he would really like to be away from Snape for a while. Astoria and the Slytherins might not even notice he was gone if he really only was 15 minutes late. And Astoria had not asked for him to come but for all of them, so she wouldn't be too disappointed if everyone else was still there.

"Fine," he finally agreed. "Let's meet by the pitch 20 minutes before the match."

He just hoped this wouldn't blow up in their faces.

* * *

The next day he told his housemates that he would meet them by the pitch and that he had something important to do before the match.

"Studying again?" Daphne asked warily.

"No," Draco laughed nervously, "something else."

"But you'll sure be there for the match?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world."

When he left the common room he saw Snape out of the corner of his eyes and hoped that the man hadn't seen him.

He met Neville by the pitch where the first students were already gathering although it was drizzling.

"Let's hurry," he urged Neville and they were soon halfway in the Forbidden Forest.

"Where do you reckon he is?" Neville asked.

"Probably close to the Shrieking Shack," he answered, and Neville gulped.

"Sure, why use a friendly place when you have the most hunted house in Great Britain at your disposal?"

"Don't always be so negative," Draco chided.

"Don't be so negative? How can you be so positive? Literally everything we did so far went wrong!" Neville defended himself.

"Not everything. We got what we wanted from Snape and we didn't get caught breaking into Gryffindor tower," Draco mused, and Neville just stared at him which served to amuse Draco.

"Sirius!" they started to call. "Move your ass here, mutt," added Draco, which Neville gave him a stern look for. "What? We are mad at him and I want him to know it," Draco shrugged his shoulders.

"Sirius!" Neville decided to ignore Draco.

"Sirius!"

They heard something in the bushes behind them but before Draco could turn around to look, a huge black dog appeared in front of them.

"Oh my god," Neville yelped, "You scared me!"

A few seconds later, it was no longer a dog standing before them, but Sirius Black. "Hey guys," he said with a smile, "Long time no see. I started to-"

Draco just prepared to give him a piece of his mind when suddenly Neville started yelling. "How could you?" he shouted. "How could you be such an inconsiderate imbecile and use  _MY_  passwords to get into Gryffindor? Do you have any idea what kind of trouble we got into because of you?"

"Ehm-"

"And it isn't gonna make our job of catching that rat any easier! Do you have any idea what security measures they are using now?"

"Wow, Neville, calm down buddy," Sirius tried.

"Don't tell me what to do!"

Draco whistled. "Wow, didn't know you had it in you," Draco praised Neville. "But yeah, Nev's right. Your little stunt meant a ton of trouble for us."

"What's a few problems compared to years spent in Azkaban?"

"Just because something bad happened to you doesn't make what's happening to us okay," Neville said evenly, having calmed down somewhat.

Sirius glared at them, but soon his posture relaxed. "I'm sorry, guys. What happened?"

"Everyone hates me now! Even my own grandmother is mad at me," Neville started.

"And Professor Snape thinks I'm-"

"Wait," Sirius interrupted him, " _Professor Snape_? Snape as in Severus "Snivellus" Snape?"

Draco glared at him. "Yeah but that's not the point. He thinks I'm helping you and now he's watching me like a hawk and I can't do anything anymore!"

Sirius seemed to ponder this when his eyes darted into the distance. "Did you hear that?"

"What?" whispered Neville.

"There's someone in the b-"

Before Sirius could finish his sentence, Draco had already sent a stunner into the bushes and started running towards them.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How'd you like this chapter? Who do you think is in the bushes? What do you think will happen next? Let me know in the comments.


	8. Chapter 8

_"_ _Yeah but that's not the point. He thinks I'm helping you and now he's watching me like a hawk and I can't do anything anymore!"_

_Sirius seemed to ponder this when he suddenly glanced into the distance. "Did you hear that?"_

_"_ _What?" whispered Neville._

_"_ _There's someone in the b-"_

_Before Sirius could finish his sentence, Draco had already sent a stunner into the bushes and started running towards them._

While running, Draco sincerely hoped that it was just a deer or some such thing. But as usual, he wasn't that lucky.

On the muddy ground, stunned, lay Daphne. Standing next to her was her sister Astoria, who let out a strangled sound when her wide, scared eyes fell on Draco. Her gaze flickered to her incapacitated sister, then back to Draco, who was running towards them, wand in hand, and then to her sister again. It was obvious that she was thinking about running away but also didn't want to leave her defenseless sister behind. Ultimately, she seemed to reach a decision. Her posture straightened, her gaze met Draco's and she raised her wand, hand shaking, towards Draco.

"Astoria," Draco panted, coming to a halt several feet away from her.

"Stay away!" she yelled, emphasizing her words by waving about her wand.

"Or what?" Draco asked amused. "Are you gonna  _Lumos_  me? Or use  _Wingardium Leviosa_?" he raised an eyebrow at her.

"Ehm-"

"I'm not going to hurt you or your sister, promise," he made a few steps towards her, holding up his hands in a non-threatening gesture.

"Do you think I'm stupid? I know who  _he_  is," she hissed, motioning her head towards Sirius. "I thought you were a decent guy, Draco, but apparently everything they've been saying about Slytherins is true." Her angry gaze turned to one of betrayal.

"I… I know how this looks but there is a simple explanation for all of this, I swear. Just, please, listen to me. I won't harm you or your sister... See," he turned towards Daphne, "Rennervate."

Daphne's eyes flattered open and immediately searched for Astoria. Once she was sure her sister was alright, she got up and stalked towards Draco. "You! You disgusting piece of-"

"Daphne, let me explain," he backed away.

"So Snape was right. You are helping him! How could you? I know you don't like Potter, but this? This is murder!"

"Daphne-"

"And Longbottom? Are you corrupting Gryffindors too, now?"

"Daphne!" Draco yelled. "Listen to me. It is not what it looks like. Sirius is innocent. No one hear wants to harm anyone. None of us is attacking you or your sister."

She raised an eyebrow in clear skepticism, folding her arms in front of her.

"You two can leave anytime you want. I- We won't stop you. But please listen to me first. Then you can go ahead and tell Snape or Dumbledore or whoever you see fit. But please listen to me first. Please."

"Let's hear him out, Daphne," whispered Astoria. "He hasn't hurt as so far and neither have the other two." She was now standing beside her sister, almost hiding behind her.

Daphne looked between her sister and the three guys and back.

"Hrmph… All right. Talk. And I hope for your sake that is this the freakin' best story I've ever heard because that's what it is gonna take for me to believe you and look over the fact that you just stunned me and that I landed in the mud!"

Neville tentatively moved next to Draco while he began telling their story. Sirius stayed as far back as he could.

"So uhm- where to begin," Draco had to think quickly. He couldn't tell her why he was hanging around the Forbidden Forest with Neville Longbottom of all people. "Neville and I were serving detention, about a week ago," yeah, that sounded believable, "and while in the forest we found him," he motioned into the general direction of Sirius. "At first, we did not believe him either, but his story convinced us to trust him. Damn, his story is so good it made a Gryffindor and a Slytherin work together, can you believe it? He is innocent. Sirius Black is innocent. He never kill anyone. Peter Pettigrew did, the guy who supposedly died through Black's hand. But he is still alive. He faked his own death and framed Sirius for it. He's been alive this whole time." He took a deep breath and looked expectantly at Daphne and Astoria.

Daphne still had her eyebrows raised and Astoria did not look convinced either.

"There are a whole lot of holes in your story and you know it," Daphne finally said, defensively.

"Yeah," Astoria agreed quietly. "How could Pettigrew have possibly pulled this off? And why did Black break into Gryffindor and why did he try to kill Potter if he's innocent?"

"He didn't. He wasn't at Potter's bed, was he?"

"He tried to kill Weasley?" Daphne asked.

"Ehm, no. I did not try to kill anyone," this was the first time Sirius spoke and Daphne and Astoria immediately took a step back. "He is an Animagus, you know?"

"What's an Animagus?" Astoria asked.

"People who can turn into animals," Daphne said, having paid attention during Snape's anti-Lupin-propaganda lesson.

"Like Professor McGonagall?" she whispered.

Neville nodded his head.

"Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, James Potter - Harry Potter's father – and I… we were best friends in school," Sirius went on.

"Professor Lupin?" Daphne interrupted.

"He is a professor now?" Sirius asked, delighted. "I shouldn't be so surprised. He's always been smart. We were best friends, you know, the four of us. And we all learned how to become Animagi. Peter can turn into a rat and I can turn into a dog. Quite impressive, isn't it?"

Daphne shrugged her shoulders, still not willing to believe anything they said.

"That's a sweet story, but how is any of this relevant?" asked Astoria.

"Oh, it is relevant, believe me. After I  _supposedly_  blew up Pettigrew and all those muggles – which I didn't – you know what the only piece of Pettigrew was, that they found?"

He was met with silence.

"His finger. They only found Pettigrew's finger. He cut it off to fake his own death. He turned into his rat form and has stayed in it – hidden – ever since."

"A rat with one finger missing?" Daphne mused, and Draco knew that she was on the right track. If she drew the conclusions herself, they might stand a chance. "Doesn't Weasley's disgusting rodent have one finger missing? As if it wasn't revolting enough already," she wrinkled her nose.

"Yes," Sirius jumped up. "Yes! It is  _him_. His rat is Pettigrew. Has been for the last  _thirteen years_. This is why I've broken into Gryffindor. To get the rat. Not Harry or this Weasley, but the rat."

"Think about it," added Neville, raising his voice for the first time, "he was already in our dorm with a knife. If he had wanted to, he could have easily killed all of us in our sleep. But he didn't. He didn't because he isn't a cold-blooded killer."

"So you really believe this, too?" Daphne inquired.

"Yes," answered Neville.

"But why now? Why not thirteen years ago?"

Sirius pulled a piece of paper out of his torn pants. "This is why."

It was one page of an older edition of the Daily Prophet. "MINISTRY OF MAGIC EMPLOYEE SCOOPS GRAND PRIZE," it read.

"That's the Weasleys," Daphne whispered, leaning forward, inspecting the picture next to the article.

"And there is the rat," Astoria stepped around Daphne to get a better look at the newspaper. Draco took that as a good sign. "And it is really missing a finger," she mused.

"Do you believe us now?" Draco asked hopefully.

The siblings looked at each other.

"Can you turn into a dog?" Astoria finally asked. "I think if I see that, I might believe you."

"My pleasure," said Sirius, and before he had finished his sentence, he had already half turned into a huge black dog.

Astoria looked delighted. Daphne still looked skeptical.

"That is awesome. Can you teach me how to do that, too?" Astoria asked.

"Sure," Sirius said once turned back into his human form.

"Well," Daphne said, "you look pretty disgusting. But your story makes sense, I think. And you got Astoria convinced so I'm willing to stay quiet about this for a while. But I'll be watching you. And the both of you," she pointed her finger at Draco and Neville.

"Oh, you should have seen him when we first found him. Quite a revolting view, really. But it's already a bit better. We fed him." Draco looked at Sirius. He was really looking a lot better now. He had eaten some real food and there was hope in his eyes, something that Draco hadn't seen when they had first found him.

Daphne wrinkled her nose and pointed her wand at Sirius. "Scourgify."

"Seriously?" Sirius yelled as suddenly he was covered in soap.

"Aqua Eructo. Siccumenti," She added. One spell flushed the soap away, the other dried Sirius.

"Better," said Daphne, happy with her work. "He'll still need new clothes though. It must be cold out here in the forest. And he'll need to shave. And don't even get me started on his hair..." Draco chuckled. "So, what is the plan guys?"

"You are willing to help us?" Sirius asked.

The sisters looked at each other and then nodded.

"Excellent. We don't really have a plan, though. I mean, besides catching the rat."

"Aww come on guys, I'm sure between the five of us we can come up with a plan that will put your feeble attempts to shame."

And that they did.

* * *

 

At first, Draco had been scared that the whole incident would threaten his relationship with Daphne and Astoria. But he needn't have worried. If anything, all of them – Draco, Astoria, Daphne and Neville – were closer than ever. What a shared secret could do for relationships, Draco mused. He had been surprised that the girls, Daphne especially, had welcomed Neville into their group. Apparently, he hadn't given his fellow Slytherin enough credit.

They spent a lot of time plotting and planning together and would take turns visiting Sirius and bringing him food. Daphne had even organized him some nice and warm winter clothes.

Their plans were coming along nicely, and it looked like they would be able to catch the rat in January. With Neville's insider knowledge on Gryffindor, Astoria's brain, Draco's and Daphne's cunning and Sirius magical knowledge and prank experience they had come up with the perfect plan and now all it took was some preparation.

That there were now four of them and that they had a solid plan, made life a lot easier for Draco. This way it didn't matter so much that Snape was watching him all the time. Unsurprisingly, Snape had noticed Draco's absence from the Ravenclaw vs. Hufflepuff match. But when he saw Draco with Daphne and Astoria after the match he hadn't said anything. Maybe he thought that Draco had been standing with the Ravenclaws and that was why he hadn't seen him. Or maybe he thought that whatever they did, if the two girls were with him, it probably wasn't anything to worry about. Oh, how wrong he was.

All in all, he was quite glad that the girls had come looking for him that day. All things considered, Draco was quite happy with how things were progressing. But he also worried about the holidays. It was a time meant to celebrate family, friendship and love and would only remind him of what he had lost. At night he often dreamed of Astoria and Scorpius and the grief and doubt would keep him up. Then he would look at his time turner, which he had buried deep inside his trunk and had put quite a few charms on, and considered going back to his own time. But, he reminded himself, he was doing a lot of good and if something went wrong he could still use it to reset the whole time stream.

The last weekend in school ended with a trip to Hogsmeade, which Draco used to buy presents for everyone. His parents, of course, and something for everyone in his year in Slytherin. This was pretty much what he had done the first time around as well. But this time he also bought something for Longbottom and of course, Astoria. He also bought a few things for the Weasley twins. Not for Christmas though. And they probably wouldn't like it too much, either. The thought made Draco chuckle. The start of the semester would be the perfect time for his revenge. They probably wouldn't be as cautious as they had been so far as they wouldn't be expecting retaliation anymore.

He bought something for Snape, too, hoping the teacher would take it as the peace offering it was and not as a poor attempt at bribery. He left it with the house elves, knowing they would deliver it on Christmas.

And he bought something for Sirius. Mostly food, though. Food and clothes were the only things the man needed right now.

The good byes were tough. But Draco was looking forward to spending some time with his parents. A younger and happier version of them. Although they had not been prosecuted – Draco had to admit, although begrudgingly, that this was solely thanks to Harry Potter – they had never gotten over everything that happened. But maybe this time that could be different, too.

"It's gonna be quite boring here, without you guys," sighed Sirius when they all said their good byes.

"We'll be back in two weeks," Neville assured him. "You'll be fine. Here, I have something for you." He reached into his bag and pulled out a colorfully wrapped parcel.

The others followed suit and everyone gave Sirius his Christmas gifts, which almost brought him to tears. Especially because he could not get them anything in return.

"It's fine. You can thank us once we cleared your name," Daphne assured him.

"Merry Christmas," Astoria said and gave him a hug.

Daphne shook his hand, but Draco and Neville were almost crushed in the bear hug Sirius gave them, which was surprisingly strong for such a small, narrow man.

"Thank you for everything, guys," he whispered. "I don't know what I'd do without you. You gave me hope, something I haven't had for a very long time now. Thank you and merry Christmas."

After that, everything happened quite fast. They boarded the Hogwarts Express back to London. Draco sat with Pansy, Daphne, Nott, Crabbe and Goyle. He enjoyed the light-hearted conversations he could have with them. Everything else in his life always seemed so serious and important, so it was a nice change to just talk about unimportant stuff like holiday plans and Quidditch.

He hugged his parents at the train station and soon he was back home, a place which reminded him of a lot of positive and negative things. He wasn't sure if he would ever be able to forget about the time Voldemort had taken over his home and used it to torture and kill people. What an idiot Draco had been to willingly join that sociopath.

He opened the door to his bedroom, when he saw _it_. He dropped his trunk instantly.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he almost yelled, but could keep it down enough to not alarm his parents.

On his bed sat a huge, black dog.

* * *

 

"You are," Draco continued, closing the door behind him, "without a doubt," he locked the door and turned around to face the tail-wagging and panting dog, "the biggest idiot I have ever met."

Sirius turned into his human form. "Oh come on," he whined, "what am I supposed to do all alone in the Forbidden Forest for two weeks? Contemplate how sad and miserable my life is? No thanks. I think I've done enough of that already. And by the way, you are still pretty young, I'm sure you'll meet bigger idiots."

Draco was quite sure that he wouldn't.

"What if my parents find you? Have you even thought this through?" he asked, still shocked. He used his wand to cast a privacy charm. It wouldn't do for his parents to hear him talking to Sirius.

"It was more of a spontaneous decision, really," he admitted.

Draco blinked a couple of times, gobsmacked. "How did you even get here?"

"Jumped on the train in my dog form," he shrugged his shoulders, "does it really matter?"

"No. You can't stay here!"

"Why not? Christmas is the time of the year where you are supposed to be with your family. We are family. You said so yourself."

"Really? First you don't trust me at all and now you want to spend two whole weeks with me and my family?" Draco asked.

"Well, you are a Slytherin," he said as if it would explain everything.

"So what? Pettigrew was a Gryffindor. Does that mean all Gryffindors are treacherous rats? Besides, if you don't like Slytherins, you are definitely in the wrong house, hypocritical bastard," Draco was really having enough of Sirius' dislike of Slytherin. Two out of four people helping him were in Slytherin. It was time he got over that.

Sirius' face fell. "You are right. Everything you say makes perfect sense. It's just… after being alone for nearly 13 years and then meeting you guys and finally having friends and hope again… I just really didn't want to spend Christmas alone."

Draco's anger vanished immediately. "I'm sorry," he muttered. He knew how sad Christmas could be if you couldn't spend it with the people you love. Christmas after his father had been arrested had been a sad affair. The first Christmas without Astoria had been a nightmare. Scorpius had refused to open any of his presents and they had just sat at the table, pushing their breakfast around the plate with their forks, avoiding looking in the direction of the empty chair next to them. His son had taken it hard and Draco, in his own grief, hadn't really known how to deal with it. How to offer comfort when he himself was lacking it. "I guess you can stay in my room. You'll have to sleep on the floor in your dog form, though. And hide under the bed if someone comes in."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Sirius tried to pull Draco into a hug, but he stepped aside.

"So, what do you want to do now? My parents will probably leave me alone till dinner. To unpack," Draco rolled his eyes. As if he ever really unpacked. He left everything in his trunk and only took out what he needed. He did not know why he even bothered bringing his trunk - he had enough clothes at home.

"I don't know. Can you tell me about what happened after I got arrested? The people mostly - I know most of the facts. Cissy, your mother, what did she do? What happened to Neville's parents? How is Harry?"

"I'm not sure if you are going to like any of it, but okay. Father did not go to Azkaban, obviously. He claimed to have been acting under the Imperius curse," he risked a glance in Sirius' direction. His eyebrows were lowered and he clenched his jaw but he did not say anything, so Draco continued. "Aunt Bellatrix... she and Rudolphus and Rabastan... and Barty Crouch Junior..." He took a deep breath. "It was already after  _his_  downfall. They captured the Longbottoms and... used the Cruciatus curse on them. I don't know for how long but... it was extensive. They were tortured for longer than anyone who had survived such an attack ever head. All four of them were caught and sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban but... the Longbottoms never recovered. They're in the permanent ward at St. Mungo's."

Sirius' expression had darkened considerably and he was clenching and unclenching his fists. "I- I should have been there, maybe I could have..." he trailed off. 

"It's not your fault," Draco said. "I don't think you could have done anything for them."

"It's not just them. I shouldn't have gone after Peter on my own. I should have taken care of Harry. I should have... It's my biggest regret. One of them, at least. I am such an idiot!"

Draco did not say anything. He agreed. Sirius should have prioritized taking care of a helpless baby over getting revenge. But who was he to judge stupid decisions made in the heat of a moment. "We are trying to find a cure for them, Neville and I," he finally continued.

"You... you think there might be one?"

Draco shrugged his shoulders. "No one has ever seriously looked into it and we do know a potion to reverse some of the nerve damage caused by the curse..."

Sirius seemed lost in thought, so Draco decided to change the topic. "Harry is in Gryffindor." That got Sirius attention. "But we are not exactly friends, so I don't know how much I can tell you about him."

"That's okay. How is he in school? Does he have friends? What kind of person is he?"

Draco pondered his questions for a bit. "He is a good guy. Great Quidditch player. He's seeker. Got on the team in his first year."

"Ah, he is just like James," Sirius said, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"He has a few friends. Ron Weasley, the guy with the rat, and Hermione Granger. She's a m-muggleborn but the best witch in our year. Neville's friends with them too, so you should probably ask him those questions. He's mediocre in school. Has issues with Snape-"

At that, Sirius laughed. "Like father like son, I suppose."

Draco frowned. "He always says Harry is like his father. I guess you would take it as a compliment, but I don't think he intends for it to be one..."

"Tzz," Sirius huffed, "How did old Snivellus become a professor, anyway? Poor kids."

"Hey! He is my godfather and I won't let you talk about him like this."

"I'm sure he is a Death Eater!" Sirius bellowed, all signs of good humor gone.

Draco's eyes narrowed. "Says the guy who spent a decade in Azkaban for being one. Dumbledore thinks he's alright and I'm pretty sure he wouldn't hire anyone who would harm the students." Well,  _that_  was a lie, but Draco hoped that Dumbledore would at least not knowingly hire a danger to the students.

"Oh, I'm sure it is all just an act. The greasy git would betray our side in a heartbeat if it worked to his advantage."

"Stop it! You don't even know him!"

"I know enough!"

"Right," Draco spat, "because you are such a wonderful judge of character when it comes to who is good and who's not."

A flash of pain flickered across Sirius' face.

"I-I'm sorry," Draco said, regretting his words immediately.

"He really doesn't deserve your kindness, you know?" Sirius said, but most of his anger had left him.

"He really doesn't deserve your hatred. He saved Harry's life a few times already. Would a Death Eater do that?" Draco explained, calmly.

"Saved his life? Why would he even need to save his life?"

"Ehm, there was a teacher who wanted to kill him. Long story," Draco muttered, quickly summarizing the most important details, knowing full well that he was somewhat undermining the argument he had made earlier about Dumbledore's employment policy.

"Snape saved Harry? And I am working together with a Slytherin. What a weird world this is."

"Sirius, I am really sorry about what I said. But if you want to stay here, you have to accept that you can't insult the people I care about. It doesn't matter who they are or what they did in the past. As long as you stay here you will not insult Snape, my family or Slytherin! Have I made myself clear?"

Sirius just bobbed his head.

"How is Remus as a professor? What does he teach?" he finally tried to change the subject.

"Professor Lupin? DADA. So he will probably only stay for a year. Never had a DADA professor for longer than that. He's good though. Knows what he's doing. Seems to enjoy it, too."

"Hmm… Could I send him a letter, maybe? Let him know that I'm innocent."

Draco frowned. "I'm not sure this is a good idea. Snape already thinks he is helping you. If he finds that letter…"

Sirius made a face at the mention of Snape but didn't say anything. "He won't. We can charm the letter so only he can read it."

They argued about this a little longer but in the end, Draco agreed to send Lupin a letter.

"Dear Moony," Sirius dictated.

"Moony?" Draco asked but still wrote it down.

"It's a nickname," he said. As Draco already knew Lupin's secret, he found it was quite an obvious one. A miracle, really, that no one had ever found out about it.

"Dear Moony, I am innocent and I will prove it. Merry Christmas, Padfoot."

"Another nickname?" Draco asked and rolled his eyes. "Is that all you want to say,  _Padfoot_?"

"Oh, what I want to say would fill a thousand letters. But this will do for now. Come January he will know that I am innocent. Everyone will know then."

A knock at the door interrupted them.

"Hide," whispered Draco and motioned Sirius under his bed. He grabbed the letter and hid it under his pillow and then grabbed his wand to end the privacy charm.

"Yes?" Draco called.

"Draco, darling," it was his mother, "may I come in."

Draco checked one last time whether he could tell Sirius was in his room. When he was sufficiently convinced that he could not been seen, he said, "Sure. Come in."

His mother entered and sat down on Draco's bed.

"How are you, Draco? How are things in school?"

"Rather good. My grades are better than ever. I did pretty well in the last Quidditch match. I'm getting along with my housemates... I think I might even have found some friends outside of Slytherin."

His mother frowned but did not comment on this last piece of information. "But do you feel save? I heard what happened. I heard that Sirius Black" at this Draco coughed, he really hoped she did not say that because she was on to them or because Snape had told her, "has been seen around Hogwarts and that he has broken in already. I heard about the Dementors, too. And that they attacked you while you were flying."

She sounded very worried.

"I'm okay, mother. No need to worry. I broke my arm, but it's all healed now." He showed her his arms. "I don't think Black would attack me. He is after Potter, right?"

"Right," his mother repeated but did not sound convinced. "Draco, dear, he has been in Azkaban for over a decade. Who knows what the state of his mind is? And he killed one of his best friends, two if you count his betrayal as murder."

"Mother?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think he really did it? That Sirius Black really was a Death Eater and killed all those muggles? His change of character... it sounds rather sudden."

"It does," Narcissa sighed. "If they had a trial and found him guilty then he probably was guilty."

"But I've heard that there never was a trial," Draco ventured.

"What? He was a part of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black! That is an outrage!" She thought about it for a while. "The story has always struck me as rather odd... and then no one investigated? I never understood why Sirius would be so strongly against the cause right up until…"

"So you think he might have been innocent?"

"I don't know. It all seemed rather unlikely…" now she seemed to be talking to herself. "But he never was properly disowned, so I thought maybe... although he probably thought he was." Narcissa looked conflicted. After a while, she turned her attention back to Draco. "I just don't know. He was very open about despising the way we think, even from a young age on. That could not have been an act. If eight-year-olds say something like that, they tend to mean it... And he was such good friends with James Potter," at that name, she wrinkled her nose, "unruly kids, they were. But he was always so loyal. I was quite fond of him when I was a young girl, but he didn't get along with Lucius… and after being sorted into Gryffindor..."

"So you don't think he did it?"

His mother pondered the question for a few minutes. "Draco, honey, I just don't know. I couldn't believe it when I first heard about it. It just made no sense. If there was one quality I always admired in him, it was his integrity, even if it often lead to his own detriment. But by the time of his arrest I hadn't talked to him for a few years and people change, sometimes. And there were eye witnesses. And if he were innocent, why wouldn't he tell someone?" Narcissa sighed. She left the room, deep in thought.

"Aww Cissy," was what Draco could hear coming from under his bed.

"You might not be as alone as you thought you were," Draco mused.


	9. Chapter 9

_"_ _I've got a job to do," said Draco._

_"_ _Well, then, you must go on and do it, my dear boy," said Dumbledore softly._

_But Draco couldn't move. His hands were trembling and his stomach was in turmoil through a mix of fear, revulsion and utter panic._

_"_ _Draco, Draco, you are not a killer."_

_"_ _How do you know?" he asked at once. "You don't know what I've done!"_

_"_ _Oh yes, I do," Dumbledore said mildly and continued to list all of Draco's wrongdoings. And then he tried to distract Draco. Asking him all kinds of questions._

_"_ _There is little time, one way or another," said Dumbledore. "So let us discuss your options, Draco."_

_"_ _I haven't got any options!" he said, "I've got to do it! He'll kill me. He'll kill my whole family!"_

_"_ _I can help you, Draco."_

_"_ _No, you can't. Nobody can. He told me to do it or he'll kill me. I've got no choice."_

_"_ _Come over to the right side, Draco, and we can hide you more completely than you can possibly imagine. What is more, I can send members of the Order to your mother tonight to hide her like-wise. Your father is safe at the moment in Azkaban… When the time comes, we can protect him too. Come over to the right side, Draco… you are not a killer…"_

_Then the Death Eaters came. All of them. Even Fenrir Greyback, who he hadn't wanted anywhere near his friends._

_And then Snape._

_And Dumbledore whispered, "_ _Severus…" begged, really, "Severus… please."_

_But Snape did not care. Decades of friendship and defending him against those who mistrusted him meant nothing to him. "_ _Avada K-"_

"Ahhh," Draco screamed and sat up straight. He was shacking all over, his heart was racing and tears were streaming down his face.

A soft nose poked him and a soft, wet tongue licked the tears from his face. He dug his fingers into the black fur and without conscious thought, hugged the dog until he stopped shaking so bad. It was quite comforting.

Once he calmed down he realized that the dog was actually a grown up man his bed so he kicked the dog off the bed. "What are you doing?" he asked incredulously.

On the floor, Sirius turned back into his human form. "You had a nightmare, a pretty bad one, and when one has nightmares there is nothing better than a dog. Trust me on this one."

"Thanks," Draco muttered and pulled his blanket over his head.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Leave me alone," his muffled voice could be heard from under the blanket.

"You don't sound fine and that was a pretty intense nightmare for someone who hasn't been through a war or spent years in Azkaban."

But Draco didn't answer so Sirius decided to leave him be for now.

* * *

To Draco's surprise, having Sirius around worked out quite well. They did not get caught and more often than not, Draco would have fun with his new roommate, which might have been due to the fact that Sirius was still half a child and Draco himself was only half a grown up.

After every meal he would bring Sirius some leftovers to eat. They would talk and play all sorts of games. Draco helped Sirius organize a present for Potter – a Firebolt – although he knew it would most likely be confiscated.

There were also days on which Draco had to leave Sirius alone all day, when his family visited relatives or friends, or someone came to visit them.

All was fine for a while, but during the second week, Sirius grew restless and irritated.

"I want to go outside," he would say every few hours.

"No," was Draco's answer every time. "What if someone sees you?"

"I could run around as a dog," he said. "No one would know."

"No."

"But I'm getting cabin fever in here."

"No."

"Okay... Fair enough," Sirius finally conceded. He stayed silent for a few minutes, which made Draco wary. Silence was not something he was used to from Sirius. After a while, Sirius asked, "You are going to Diagon Alley tomorrow, right? With your parents?"

"Yes," he didn't like where this was going.

"I have an idea."

Oh, he didn't like where this was going at all.

* * *

In Diagon Alley he met Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy, Astoria and Daphne.

"Hey guys, merry Christmas,"

"Merry Christmas, Draco, and thank you for the present," Astoria replied.

The students exchanged small talk for a while. Then they went shopping. Florish and Blotts, Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop, Obscurus Books, Sugarplum's Sweets Shop, Slug & Jiggers Apothecary, Quality Quidditch Supplies,... They went to several shops and Draco bought quite a few potions, clothes, candy and a new broom – the next Quidditch match was not far away and the school brooms were so horrible Draco could not fathom why they gave them to people who couldn't fly. Those brooms made learning how to fly harder than it had to be. Draco also bought some  _necessities_  Sirius had advised him on. It was rather obvious that Sirius planned to continue his pranking legacy through Draco and his friends - which was fine by Draco. But once he had cleared Sirius' name, he would have to introduce him to Fred and George. 

In passing, Draco mentioned that a stray dog was running around his house and just wouldn't live him alone. The sisters wore matching shocked expressions.

"Weird," Goyle just huffed, not particularly interested.

"Hey Goyle?"

"Yeah?"

"You got something in your hair."

"Ahh, is it a spider? Take it off, take it off!"

"Shh, hold still," he reached toward his head.

"Ouch," Goyle yelled.

"Got it," Draco said.

"I think you got some of my hair, too," he complained.

"Oh really? Sorry," he muttered.

The day in Diagon Alley was quite fun. They even saw Neville and Draco and the sisters waved to him when the others weren't watching.

* * *

Back home in the early afternoon he asked his parents whether one of his friends could visit them.

"Of course," his father had said, and Draco quickly made his way back into his room.

"You are back," Sirius exclaimed excitedly. "How did it go?"

"I got the hair and the potion and my parents said yes. I'm still not sure, however, if this is really such a good idea."

"Aww, where is your sense for adventure?"

"I don't have one. I'm a Slytherin, we value self-preservation. Something you are obviously lacking. It's a wonder you're still alive."

Sirius made his way over to Draco, choosing not to comment. "Let's do it!"

Reluctantly, Draco handed over the potion and the hair. Sirius put the hair into the potion at which it turned murky brown. Sirius wrinkled his nose as if he already knew it would taste disgusting. This made Draco think that he might have used this particular potion a few times already. Sirius held his breath and chucked it down.

Immediately, he doubled over and clutched his stomach, dropping the vial. Gasping, he went to all fours and before Draco's eyes he started to transform into Gregory Goyle.

"Wow," Draco whispered, poking the newly transformed Sirius with his index finger. "That's amazing!"

Sirius jumped up and sprinted to the closest mirror. "Couldn't you have picked a more attractive friend?" he asked as he examined himself.

"Between Crabbe and Goyle? Believe me, you already are the better looking one." Not by much, though. 

Sirius frowned. "What do I need to know about this guy?" he asked while changing into some of Draco's clothes. They were a bit too small but nothing too obvious once Draco had cast a few spells on it.

"Hmm," Draco thought about this. "Your name is Gregory Goyle. We've been friends for years. Goyle is pretty stupid… Scratch that, very stupid. He isn't very nice, either. Very typical pureblood…"

"Wow," Sirius muttered, "Anything nice to say about him? Why are you two even friends?"

Draco shrugged his shoulders. "He is very loyal and a good friend and… I used to be like that, too. Thought I was better than everyone else because of the family I was born into… I am not proud of that and I have changed my mind."

Sirius didn't say anything.

"You know, people can change their minds. And they deserve to be given a second chance," Draco continued.

"Maybe you are right," Sirius pondered. "Anyhow, enough seriousness for one day. Let's have some fun. How much time do I have?"

"About 6 hours, the shopkeeper said."

Sirius' eyes twinkled, "Let's go," and he left the room.

Draco trotted after him. "Mother! Father? Goyle is here."

Lucky for him they were both busy and did not care much.

Sirius acted like a little child, which amused Draco to no ends. They grilled marshmallows in the fireplace and had a huge snowball fight. Then they played Quidditch. Draco had never seen Sirius so happy.

When they came back into the house the house elves had made them some hot chocolate and they drank it in the living room, happily chatting about Merlin knew what.

"Draco, Gregory," Lucius Malfoy entered the room. "We have a guest."

Draco turned his head and wasn't even surprised by his bad luck. In front of him stood the last person he wanted in a room with Sirius Black with. He schooled his features, put on a polite smile and said:

"Good evening, Professor Snape."

* * *

"Good evening, Professor Snape," said Draco politely.

"Draco," Snape nodded his head, "Mr. Goyle."

When Sirius didn't say anything, Draco poked him with his elbow.

"Sir," Sirius, still looking like Gregory Goyle, squeaked.

"Should we leave the room, father," asked Draco, sincerely hoping that they could.

"No need," said Snape, "I won't stay long. I just came to wish you merry Christmas," he exchanged presents with his father and also had something for Draco.

Narcissa stepped into the room. "Severus," she sounded delighted. "Merry Christmas," she gave him a hug which looked quite awkward on his part. "Why don't you stay and have tea with us?"

 _Great_ , Draco thought. A couple of awkward minutes later they were all sitting around the table in front of the fireplace, teas in hands.

"I hear you have new colleagues this year, Severus," Lucius asked, amused.

Snape scowled. "Sadly, Hogwarts standards are slipping significantly by the year."

Lucius nodded. "No doubt the children will be subject to all sorts of monsters."

Draco had to give it to Snape, he didn't even blink. "Oh, you mean Care of Magical Creatures? I suppose he has had quite a lot of experience, but I do hope Albus checks the… scale of creatures."

"Oh, I heard we'll be covering dragons at one point," Draco said excitedly.

Severus looked worried. "You are taking Care of Magical Creatures, Draco?" he sounded surprised.

Draco glanced to his parents. His mother looked smug, his father rather unhappy. Draco wouldn't have taken CoMC if his mother hadn't put her foot down.

"The oaf Hagrid must have friends in high places," Lucius continued.

"Hey-" Sirius started but Draco stomped on his foot and coughed to cover the beginnings of Sirius' outburst up.

"He is quite alright," Draco said. "Better than expected. None of us have died yet," he chuckled, but his parents did not seem to find the joke funny. At least Sirius did not look like he wanted to jump up and defend the half-giant's honor any longer. At one point, Draco thought, he would have to explain to Sirius that friendly and knowledgeable people did not automatically make good teachers and that the whole subject had grown rather more dangerous since Hagrid had started teaching it.

"His knowledge on magical creatures is outstanding," Snape agreed.

"He also introduces us to all kinds creatures, not just the ministry approved ones," Draco added. His father would appreciate this, even if his mother wouldn't. Trying to defend Hagrid, please both of his parents, not anger Sirius and keep Snape from becoming suspicious was taxing.

"What about Defense? Don't you have a new teacher there, too?" Narcissa asked.

Draco could feel Sirius and Snape grow tense. That line of conversation could lead to trouble.

"Yes," Snape drawled.

"Ah, Lupin. Wasn't he friends with Black?" Lucius mused, looking in Snape's direction with an amused twinkle in his eyes.

"Yes," Snape said curtly.

"And Potter, too. Black used to follow him around everywhere. Talked about nothing else, too... Don't you think it is weird that he turned on them," Narcissa asked and Draco took in a sharp breath.

"It seemed rather unlikely that he would join the Dark Lord without any of us noticing," Snape admitted, "and betraying his best friend... But I guess he always had a Dark supposition… even in school."

"Wasn't he in your year at Hogwarts?" Lucius asked.

Draco dug his nails into Sirius' arm to keep him from commenting.

"I do believe so, yes," Snape said.

Draco gulped. He took a sip from his tea to cover his face.

"Yes. Potter, Black, Lupin and Pettigrew were in my year. They were best friends. Terrorized the whole school," he muttered.

Draco dug his nail deeper into Sirius' flesh but it was no use.

"I'm sure they had their reasons," he scoffed.

Snape gave him an odd look that Draco couldn't quite place. "Not any that would make sense to anyone but them. They would attack any student whose views differed from their own. Never worrying about consequences, not even if those were potential death."

"Well maybe those v- Ahh!"

Draco had coughed and spilled some of his tea in Sirius' lap.

"Oh, Draco," Narcissa yelled.

"Oh my God, I am so sorry! Let's get you into the bathroom and I'll organize some clothes for you to change."

He grabbed Sirius by the arm and dragged him out of the room.

"I'm starting to believe the reason why you weren't sorted into Slytherin was because you completely lack the ability to be subtle," Draco hissed once they were out of hearing range. "Can't you at least try not to make my life any more difficult than it already is?"

"Oh that evil, sl-"

"Sirius!"

"What? Did you hear what he said?"

"I heard that he also found it strange that you would turn on Potter. That's good! It means when the time comes we might be able to convince him of your side of the story!"

Sirius stared at him. He was prepared for a long rant, but Draco's statement seemed to have caught him of guard.

"He- You think so?"

Draco nodded. Maybe distraction was the only way to deal with Sirius' outbursts.

"Oh man, your hair is turning black again!"

"What?" he reached for his hair. "The potion is wearing off?" he sounded rather sad.

"Probably. Oh, someone's coming!"

"Quick, hide in the bathroom," Draco pushed Sirius who almost looked like himself again into the bathroom when he heard footsteps approaching. "Stay in there," he whispered.

"Draco?" It was Snape.

"Yes," he swirled around.

"Is everything alright?" he inquired.

"Everything is fine," Draco mumbled. He knew that lies wouldn't get him any further. He really hoped he didn't have to lie to his godfather much longer. He always knew when someone lied and Draco didn't like that it made their relationship worse instead of better. "I know you think I am up to something... and you are right. But I really can't tell you and I know you could easily read my mind if you wanted to but I would appreciate it if you just believed me when I told you that it is not what you think it is and that it is nothing bad."

Snape gave him a calculating look. "Alright," he finally said. "But be careful. Merry Christmas, Draco."

"Merry Christmas."

Then Snape left and Draco let out a sigh of relief. That bought him some time. Not much and he was sure if Snape got any more reason to suspect him, he would act on it, but for now he was safe.

Later that day, Sirius was lying on Draco's bed while he was sitting in a chair reading.

"Draco?"

"Hum?"

"Thanks for today."

"You're welcome," Draco said absent mindedly.

"No, really. This has been the best day I had in decades. Ever since… well, you know."

Draco looked up from his book. "I'm glad you had fun."

"I know I am not making things easy for you, but I am trying. I'm sorry if I insulted you or anyone you care about. I really do appreciate what you have done for me. From believing in me to helping me to letting me stay in your home. This is more than I could ever have hoped for. Before you found me, I was alone, miserable, cold and hungry. Driven mad by thoughts of revenge. But now I have hope and it is all thanks to you and your friends."

Draco flashed him a warm smile. "I'm glad we found you that day. And don't worry about it. I know how hard it can be to let go of a grudge."

For all the trouble he had caused, Draco really was glad he had found Black. Helping him took his mind off things and made him feel useful. It also showed him how working for the Light side felt and he found that he quite liked that. The feeling of doing something good and the people he met on his path made it worth the struggle. As a Death Eater he had been full of hate and he could never trust anyone. His sixth year had almost killed him. He wasn't a killer. He had learnt that on the Astronomy tower. And he didn't like to see people suffer. Being a Death Eater had never made anyone happy.

Besides Snape, there weren't any Death Eaters who could cast the Patronus charm. It was sad, really. It told Draco everything about Death Eaters that he needed to know. None of them were ever really, truly happy.

But thinking about his life – the one he had right now – he was rather happy. He had more meaningful relationships than the first time around and he felt like he was making the world a better place. He also felt like he could finally atone for his sins. In time, he would be reunited with Astoria and Scorpius and he would be able to provide them with a better life.

That night, he fell asleep with a smile on his lips.

* * *

 

 

Draco was glad to be back at Hogwarts where he did not need to worry about anyone accidentally stumbling upon an escaped prisoner and alleged serial killer in his room. He had enjoyed spending the holidays with his parents and he had had fun having Sirius around, but he also felt like he always had to be on guard and if he weren't he would end up in Azkaban. Being back at school he thought he might finally be able to relax somewhat. But he soon realized that this semester would not be any less exhausting than the last.

Right in his second week back at school, the Slytherin Quidditch team had its second match. Slytherin versus Ravenclaw. Draco really started to hate the Dementors. They did not attack again, but he was quite certain they were responsible for the terrible weather this year. And playing in the rain was just not fun. And it was dangerous, too. But he didn't complain, as Slytherin won their second game as well.

Soon after that, they had another Hogsmeade weekend. Draco and everyone else who knew about Sirius decided to skip Hogsmeade and use the chance to hold one last meeting to discuss their plan to free Sirius.

On his way back from the meeting, Draco and Daphne heard Snape talking to someone. Fearing another unpleasant encounter, they decided to split up and take another route back to their dorm. He walked by a statue of a one-eyed witch, when suddenly Harry Potter was standing in front of him.

"What the-" he stared at Harry with an open mouth. Was this a secret passage by the statue?

Harry didn't know what to say either. His face was sweaty, and his hands were covered in mud.

"Snape's just around the corner, you know?" Draco finally offered and saw Harry gulp.

He should leave. And he should leave fast because Potter had obviously done something against the rules and if Snape found them here, together, he would probably draw the wrong conclusions.

He was just about to leave, but Potter's panic-stricken face told him, that it was already too late. He turned around and saw a smug looking Severus Snape. That couldn't be good.

"And what would you two be doing here?" Snape asked, looking between the two. "An odd place to meet."

"We're not - meeting here," Harry said, "we just – met here."

"Eloquent as always," Draco frowned. This was the end. "But what he's saying is true. I just ran into him here five seconds ago."

"Indeed?" said Snape. "You two have a habit of turning up in unexpected places, and you are very rarely there for no good reason… Come with me, both of you."

While they walked, Draco noticed Potter wiping his hands clean using his robes and looking apologetic at Malfoy.

"What did you do?" Draco mouthed.

Harry couldn't talk with Snape listening. But the look on his face told Draco that they were in a world of trouble. He hadn't even done anything this time. The universe was clearly working against him.

"Sit," Snape ordered, which they did. Snape himself remained standing. "Mr. Goyle and Mr. Crabbe have just been to see me with a strange story."

Harry didn't say anything.

"They told me that they were up by the Shrieking Shack when they ran into Weasley – apparently alone."

Draco frowned. Where was Snape going with this?

But still, Harry didn't speak.

"They stated that they were talking to Weasley, when a large amount of mud was thrown at them. How do you think that could have happened?"

Harry tried to look mildly surprised but if he wasn't able to fool Draco he sure wasn't fooling Snape either.

"I don't know, Professor."

Snape looked at Draco. "I honestly haven't even been in Hogsmeade today." He hoped Snape believed him but as things stood lately, he probably didn't believe anything he said anymore.

"They then saw an extraordinary apparition. Can you imagine what it might have been?"

"No," Harry said.

"It was your head, Potter. Floating in midair."

Draco's jaw almost hit the table. What? He remembered this. He was there, but not this time. The first time this happened. He sincerely hoped Snape didn't notice the recognition on his face.

There was a long silence.

"Maybe they'd better go to Madam Pomfrey," said Harry. "If they are seeing things like-"

Draco couldn't help himself, he snorted.

"What would your head have been doing in Hogsmeade, Potter?" said Snape softly. "Your head is not allowed in Hogsmeade. No part of your body has permission to be in Hogsmeade."

"I know that," said Harry, "it sounds like they are having hallucin-"

"They are not having hallucinations," snarled Snape, and he bent down, a hand on each arm of Harry's chair, so that their faces were a foot apart. "If your head was in Hogsmeade, so was the rest of you."

"I've been up in Gryffindor Tower," tried Harry.

"I have been in the dungeons," added Draco. "I haven't even seen Potter all day!"

"Can anyone confirm that?"

Sirius – was Draco's first thought. He took a few deep breaths. Occluding. He was so screwed.

Harry didn't say anything, either. Snape's thin mouth curled into a horrible smile.

"So," Snape said, straightening up. "Everyone from the Minister of Magic downward has been trying to keep famous Harry Potter safe from Sirius Black. But famous Harry Potter is a law unto himself. Let the ordinary people worry about his safety! Famous Harry Potter goes where he wants to, with no thought for the consequences."

Draco had to agree. Had Sirius really been a serial killer after Potter, it would have been easy to kill him. But he could also see that he was trying to provoke Harry into a confession. He had no proof – yet.

Snape then went on to insult Harry's father, which soon escalated.

"SHUT UP!" Harry jumped up.

Anger management issues, Draco thought amused. It would be funny to watch if he hadn't been in as much trouble as Harry was.

"What did you say to me, Potter?"

Draco sincerely hoped Harry would shut up himself.

"I told you to  _shut up_  about my dad!" he now yelled. "I know the truth all right? He saved your life! Dumbledore told me! You wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for my dad!"

What? This was news to Draco.

"And did the headmaster tell you the circumstances in which your father saved my life?" Snape whispered. "Or did he consider the details too unpleasant for precious Potter's delicate ears?"

Harry obviously didn't know what happened. Draco could see that as clear as day.

"I would hate for you to run away with a false idea of your father, Potter," Snape continued. "Have you been imagining some act of glorious heroism? Then let me correct you – your saintly father and his friends played a highly amusing joke on me that would have resulted in my death if your father hadn't got cold feet at the last moment. There was nothing brave about what he did. He was saving his own skin as much as mine. Had their joke succeeded, he would have been expelled from Hogwarts."

Draco gulped. Hadn't Snape mentioned something about Sirius dark disposition over Christmas? Had he tried to kill his godfather?

"Turn out your pockets!" he spat, for the first time in a while addressing them both again.

Harry didn't move and Draco frantically thought about what he had in his pockets. Two old newspaper articles – the one about the Weasley's with the rat on the picture and one about the escape of Sirius Black – and the time turner. Why had he picked today of all days to carry that thing around? Not that the newspaper articles were any less condemning.

"Turn out your pockets, or we go straight to the headmaster!"

Draco's heart was hammering in his chest. He grabbed the newspaper articles and pulled them out of his pockets, leaving the time turner in it, hoping that Snape wouldn't want him to pull his pockets out.

"What is this?" Snape sounded livid. If that didn't look like evidence that he was helping Black and trying to get Potter killed, Draco didn't know what would.

He felt Harry staring at him, but Draco decided to stare on the desk in front of him, not looking either man in the eyes. Snape probably thought he was luring Potter out of the castle and into the hands of Black. And Potter's thoughts were probably not all too different.

"After everything that happened recently I decided to do some research… just out of curiosity," Draco knew it was a mute attempt, neither of them believed him.

"Are you… are you helping him?" Potter finally asked.

"Your pockets, Potter," Snape said, probably needing time to digest all of this himself.

Harry slowly pulled out a bag of Zonko's tricks and a piece of parchment.

Snape picked up the Zonko's bag.

"Ron gave them to me," said Harry.

"Indeed? And you've been carrying them around ever since? How very  _touching_ … and what is this?"

"Spare bit of parchment," Harry shrugged.

"Surely you don't need such a very old piece of parchment? Why don't I just – throw this away?"

Snape moved toward his fireplace.

"No!" Harry yelled before he could stop himself.

Draco had to admit, this was nicely played by Snape. He just hoped this, whatever it was, would lead to less and not more trouble for them.

"So! Is this another treasured gift from Mr. Weasley? Or is it – something else? A letter, perhaps, written in invisible ink? Or instructions to get into Hogsmeade without passing the dementors?"

Harry blinked which Snape obviously took as a yes. Draco really hoped this had nothing to do with Sirius. Maybe it would distract Snape from him.

"Did you give this to him?" he barked at Draco.

He was only able to shake his head.

"He didn't," Harry admitted.

"Reveal your secret!" Snape pointed his wand at the map, but nothing happened. "Show yourself!"

Words appeared on the smooth surface of the map.

" _Mr. Moony presents his compliments to Professor Snape, and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people's business."_

Moony? Wasn't that the nickname Sirius had used for Lupin. And if Draco knew of the nicknames, there was no way Snape, who had spent years around the four pranksters and knew of Lupin's secret, had never heard them. He glanced up at Snape. He could read by the look on his face that Snape had indeed heard Sirius and his friends use these nicknames.

Snape stared at Draco. And Draco knew that Snape knew that he knew. Damn.

" _Mr. Prongs agrees with Mr. Moony, and would like to add that Professor Snape is an ugly git_."

Draco felt like he would faint any second.

" _Mr. Padfoot would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like that ever became a professor._ "

Draco closed his eyes in horror. Why couldn't Sirius just be a normal guy? Why did he have to do stuff like that?

" _Mr. Wormtail bids, Professor Snape good day, and advises him to wash his hair, the slimeball_."

Draco was glad he was sitting, he was trembling, shaking all over. Snape probably thought Draco gave the plan how to get to Hogsmeade to Harry to lure him into a dangerous situation.

"After dinner," Snape hissed through gritted teeth, looking at both of them, "you, both of you, will meet me in the headmaster's office. Have I made myself clear?" he sounded dangerous.

"Yes," they both whispered.

They quietly left the office. Draco could hear Snape throwing Floo powder into the fireplace and calling "Lupin!" but then the door behind them closed.

Oh, how everything had gone south. What the hell was he supposed to do now? And meeting Dumbledore? He would surely get expelled. Or worse.

"Malfoy-" Potter began, but Draco interrupted him.

"If I was working with him I surely wouldn't have saved your life during the Quidditch match, don't you think?"

He hurried away, before Potter could say anymore.

It had to happen tonight. If they didn't catch the rat tonight, everything would be over. They would expel him, find Sirius and give him the Dementor's kiss. And Draco would end up in Azkaban.

Of course, he still had the time turner. Before he ended up in Azkaban he would use it to reset the timeline and go back to the way things were. But that would mean that Sirius would die again. Either way, tonight would be the night that would decide the destiny of Sirius Black.


	10. Chapter 10

Draco had to act quickly. He found Daphne in the Slytherin common room, talking to Pansy. One meaningful look and she found an excuse to drop the conversation. Once they were out of earshot of anyone else, Draco only said "It has to happen tonight," and that was that. Daphne asked no questions. She only nodded and sprinted off, as per plan, to inform Neville, Astoria if the circumstances allowed, Sirius.

Draco meanwhile hurried to Hogwart's kitchens. He'd had a potion brewing there, undetected, for quite some time now. He had started working on it the day he returned from the Christmas holidays. He took care of the potion they needed and exchanged a few words with the house elves.

Dinner itself was a strange affair, the air thick with tension. Snape was watching him. Dumbledore was watching him. Potter and his two annoying friends were watching him. Potter had probably told them everything, and whatever conclusion they had drawn, it could not possibly look good for Draco. Draco made sure to not look at any of them. Especially not at Snape or Dumbledore. They were both skilled Legilimens. If either of them read his mind, things were over.

Draco did not eat much, he was too nervous, and his stomach was rebelling. Instead he just pushed his food around on his plate while barely listening to Crabbe and Goyle telling him about how they encountered Potter's head in Hogsmeade. If Snape hadn't caught him in the afternoon he would have gladly listened to their story but as it were he couldn't concentrate on anything but his own worries.

It happened right in the middle of dinner and was perhaps the most perfectly executed prank the school had seen this school year. Everything happened just the way Draco and his friends had planned it.

The first thing Draco noticed was a strange change in the general noisiness of the Great Hall. First it had become eerily quiet at one end of the hall, then, panicked noises exploded from the Gryffindor table. Only when Crabbe and Goyle stopped rambling and noticed that something was amiss, did Draco turn his head in the direction of the turmoil.

A small smile crept on Draco's first as his gaze landed on the Gryffindor table. At least one of his plans was working out in his favor. The potion was working perfectly. It had taken some time and persuasion, but eventually the house elves had believed his tale of playing a harmless prank to lighten the mood in such dark times and had agreed to put the potion into one particular group of students' food.

One after the other, all heads at Gryffindor table grew longer, ridiculously long, really. And with the length, the hair also changed its color - to stunningly beautiful Malfoy blond.

When everyone's attention was on the distraught group of lions, Draco pulled out his wand and, under the table, cast a quick transfiguration spell Sirius had taught him. The robes of every lion in the hall turned a marvelous shade of green.

Laughter erupted around Draco and Draco couldn't help but snicker as well. He wondered how many times Sirius had used that particular spell before and whether one of his victims had been an unsuspecting Severus Snape.

The changing robes were the cue for the house elves. Small popping sounds announced their arrival. One for each Gryffindor student. The house elves appeared right next to them, bowing down and saying, in a rather unnecessarily loud fashion, "Mr. Malfoy" or "Miss Malfoy".

It was hilarious. No one at Gryffindor table said a word. But all the other houses had started laughing. Not just Slytherin, but Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, as well. They either thought the prank harmless - which it really was - or they thought it was aimed at humiliating Draco. Either way, their laughing was almost deafening.

Draco put on a serious face - not at all hard with how worried he was. He had to play his part. He strutted over to the Gryffindor table, stopping in front of the Weasley twins who were staring at him with open mouths.

"Brother," one of them finally mumbled.

"You are back," the other continued.

"Have joined us at the table of the most ancient and noble house of Malfoy," the other added.

They jumped up started strutting around, too, in a rather over the top manor. Acting arrogant and pompous, making even the most pissed off Gryffindor laugh.

Draco was watching their show when a hand grabbed him from behind and nearly had him jump out off his skin. He was scared that it was Snape and that he would Avada Kedavra him on the spot in front of everyone. But to his surprise and immense relief it wasn't Snape. It was McGonagall, looking anything but amused.

"Mr. Malfoy-" she started.

"Which one?" one of the Weasleys interrupted.

"Oh, him," she motioned at Draco, but then seemed to change her mind, "and you two as well. My office. Now."

McGonagall walked out of the Hall and the three of them followed her, one on each side of Draco. The attention of the whole school was on them. Good, thought Draco. This way, no one would notice that two people had been missing during the meal.

"Man, that was brilliant," one of the Weasleys started.

"Absolutely, utterly brilliant. You have to teach us that spell you used," the other mused.

"Who would have thought that a Malfoy could have a sense of humor," the first one chuckled.

Draco smirked. "Well, we have three examples of Malfoys with humor right here, don't you think?"

The twins started laughing. Draco laughed too, but he didn't really feel it. Had he not been so nervous, he might have been better able to appreciate the prank as well.

"Mr. Malfoy," McGonagall started, once in her office. "Draco Malfoy," she added as an afterthought. "What were you thinking?"

"Thinking about what?" Draco asked innocently. "Oh wait - you think it was me? It wasn't me!"

"W-What?"

"I didn't do it. And I don't think you have any evidence that would suggest that I did it. I am just as much a victim of this prank, which was clearly meant to humiliate me, as everyone else."

The twins nodded their heads in agreement. McGonagall was speechless.

"Those two like to play pranks. On me especially. Maybe it was one of them," he said and hoped that the twins wouldn't take it personally. Luckily, they did not look as if they cared at all.

That moment, the door burst open and Snape entered, looking even more furious – if that was even possible - than he had just a few hours ago.

"Mr. Malfoy," he started.

The twins seemed to sense that this would be the end of him. "It wasn't him," they said in unison.

"W-what?" Snape reacted quite similar to how Professor McGonagall had reacted.

"It was us," one of them said.

Draco wasn't sure how this would have played out because right after that, Professor Lupin joined them in the already quite crowded office, his face pale and eyes wide.

"Severus," he urged, "Black has been here! He has some of the students. Longbottom and the Greengrass sisters. Harry and his friends went after him. I don't know where they all are, though."

Draco gulped. How did Potter and his idiot friends get into this whole mess?

Snape turned towards him and dove into his mind. He was so strong that Draco didn't even try to resist. It wouldn't have worked anyway. But Severus' presence in his mind was a lot less brutal than what he was used from his aunt and the Dark Lord.

Snape was quite swift. He found a memory of Draco and Black in the Shrieking Shack and left his head again.

"The Shrieking Shack," he said to Lupin and then turned to Draco. "You stay here," he growled, clearly struggling not to kill him. Together with Lupin he left the room.

"Professor," Draco started, looking at Professor McGonagall. "I think you should fetch the headmaster."

To his relief, McGonagall left to do just that.

"Looks like we are off the hook, guys," he said to Fred and George. "Maybe we should go back to our dorms and warn everyone to stay inside," he suggested.

He didn't wait for their answer but sprinted out of the room.

Once he was out of the castle he acciod for his broom and flew to the Shrieking Shack, hoping he would arrive there before Snape and Lupin.

* * *

 

Once Draco arrived in the Shrieking Shack he was relieved to see that he had made it there before the teachers and before Potter and his friends.

"They are on their way," he panted as soon as he saw Sirius, Neville and the Greengrass sisters. "Snape and Lupin. And Harry and his friends. Do you have the rat?" he asked.

"Yes," Astoria announced proudly. "Neville and I left during the big mess in the Great Hall and Neville took me to his dorm. Neville distracted the cat and I caught the rat," she lifted the unconscious rat up for everyone to see. Neville, standing next to her, looked quite proud of their achievement as well.

"Perfect," Draco let out a sigh of relief. Maybe it would all work out for the best. He was optimistic - well, until Sirius opened his mouth.

"Let's kill him," Sirius said, sounding giddy. He made a few steps towards Astoria, who squealed and jumped back, hiding the rat behind her back. Neville instinctively stepped between them, hand tightening around his wand.

"No," Draco said. "Remember what we talked about. We need him alive to prove your innocence."

Sirius looked disappointed, but yielded to the others. "Fine."

"When Snape and Lupin arrive, I will explain what's going on. Snape'll listen to me and if he does not believe my words, we have the rat to prove your story is true." He just hoped Potter and his friends would not complicate the plan. His earlier encounter with Snape had already damaged his credibility. But he still thought Snape would listen to him before attacking him, even if he stood in front of Sirius. He turned towards Neville and the girls. "Maybe you guys should leave," he said. "No one knows you had anything to do with this. You can still get out of this without losing house point or detention... Or Azkaban."

"No," Daphne said, decisively, stepping next to Draco.

"We are in this together. We won't leave you alone when you really need us," agreed Neville.

Astoria nodded her head enthusiastically.

Draco wanted to say something, but was interrupted by the loud bang of a door being thrown open and hitting the wall. "YOU FOUL," the golden trio burst into the room and Hermione made her way towards Draco. "EVIL," she took another step towards Draco and smacked him in the face. Hermione was so mad, she was shaking.

Draco held his burning cheek. He had had a feeling that being slapped by Hermione Granger might be one of those things that he couldn't have changed had he tried. A universal truth that could not be undone. He was beginning to suspect that the past did not want to be changed, which was one of the reasons why the more Draco tried to change things, the more problems he ran into.

"Leave him alone," Neville yelled.

"Et tu, Neville?" Hermione whispered, shock and disappointment evident on her face. Draco could see the fight leave her betrayed body.

Harry and Ron were standing behind Hermione, pointing their wands at Draco and Sirius.

"Hermione, it's not what-" Neville started.

"Expelliarmus!" Draco yelled, the wands of the trio flying into his hand. Knowing that the Professors were on their way, he handed one of them to Sirius. He would need a wand to protect himself.

"If you want to kill Harry," Ron yelled at Sirius, "you will have to kill us too!"

"There will be only one murder here tonight," Sirius said, his eyes wild.

"Oh my god, Sirius!" Daphne squeaked.

"Shut up," Draco yelled at him. "Every time you open your mouth you make a bad situation even worse!" Which was exactly why their plan had only involved Draco talking and explaining. But apparently, Sirius had decided to skip that part of the plan entirely and get them all sent straight to Azkaban.

"And you, Malfoy," Harry stepped forward, wandless hands balled into fists. Draco had to admit, Potter was a lot of things, but a coward wasn't one of them. "I can't believe it. Why did I believe you when you said you weren't helping him? I am such an idiot. A Malfoy being nice, right. All you ever did was make my life more difficult than it already is. I don't know why I thought your maliciousness had limits," Harry huffed.

Draco took a step back. The betrayal in Potter's voice and the reminder of how he had been in the past, stung.

"You probably planned this all along," Harry accused. "Your father will be so proud. You have been helping him all along, haven't you?"

"Yes. Yes, he has," Sirius said, and Draco cursed under his breath. Why couldn't that man just shut up?

"YOU KILLED MY PARENTS!" Harry roared, turning towards Sirius.

"I can't deny that," Sirius admitted, and Draco threw his hands in the air. That man had some real problems. They should have foregone him entirely and just taken the stupid rat directly to Snape or Dumbledore.

"He is innocent," Astoria said hastily. "Just listen to him. To the whole story. He isn't a traitor."

"Oh shut up, you-" Weasley began.

"Hey!" both Draco and Daphne interrupted. "Don't talk to my sister like that," threatened Daphne.

"I know you Slytherins don't like me," Harry said, narrowing his eyes, "but this is murder."

Draco wanted to say something in his defense, but there was a noise coming from within the tunnel that connected the Shrieking Shack to the Whomping Willow.

"WE ARE HERE!" Hermione yelled before anyone could stop her. "SIRIUS BLACK-"

Before Draco could silence her with a spell, the door burst open and Remus Lupin entered the, by now rather crowded, room.

He had his wand raised at Sirius.

"Remus," Sirius eyes had a new spark in it and he maid a step towards him.

"Don't move," Lupin whispered, pointing his wand at him, sounding menacing.

"It's Pettigrew," Sirius rumbled hastily, almost stumbling over his own words. "He is still alive. It was him. Him all along," he wildly gestured at the rat Astoria was still holding.

Lupin's gaze fixed on the rat. "But then…" he whispered, staring at Black. "… why hasn't he shown himself before now? Unless-" Lupin's eyes widened. "Unless he was the one… unless you switched… without telling me?"

Black slowly nodded.

"Professor," Harry interrupted loudly, "what's going on-?" But he never finished his question.

Lupin lowered his wand, made a few steps towards Black and then embraced him like a long-lost brother.

"I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" Hermione screamed. "You- you-"

"Hermione," Lupin tried to stop her.

"- you and him!"

"Hermione, calm down –"

Draco's wands and those held by Sirius and Lupin flew out of their hands and into the hands of one Professor Severus Snape.

"Darn," Draco cursed under his breath. He shouldn't have let Lupin's arrival distract him so.

"I didn't tell anyone!" Hermione shrieked, not having noticed Snape's presence. "I've been covering up for you-"

Draco knew that he had to stop Snape from doing anything rash so when the potion's master moved, Draco jumped in front of him. He stared him in the eyes, concentrating hard, practically forcing his memories on him.

"Hermione, listen to me, please!" Lupin shouted. "I can explain-"

The first memory he threw at him was of Black explaining the situation with Pettigrew. When he saw Snape halting in his movement he knew he had seen it.

"I trusted you," Harry shouted at Lupin, his voice wavering, "and all the time you've been his friend!"

When Draco knew he had his godfather's attention, he pushed forward the memory of the failed attempt to catch the rat. He could feel Snape entering his mind. He also felt how incredibly angry the man was.

"You're wrong," said Lupin. "I haven't been Sirius's friend, but I am now – Let me explain…"

Draco went back to the beginning, showing Snape how he and Neville had found Sirius.

"NO!" Hermione screamed. "Harry, don't trust him, he's been helping Black get into the castle, he wants you dead too – he's a  _werewolf_!"

There was a ringing silence. Everyone but Severus and Draco, who were still looking at each other, was now looking at Lupin.

"What?" Daphne whispered.

"It is true," Astoria said, calmly. "His absences coincide with the full moon." Draco was surprised she, as a first year, had figured it out, too. Damn, was she brilliant.

"Not at all up to your usual standard, Hermione," said Lupin, ignoring Astoria. "Only one out of three, I'm afraid. I have not been helping Sirius get into the castle and I certainly don't want Harry dead. But I won't deny that I am a werewolf. How long have you two known?"

Hermione looked over to Astoria.

"Ages," Hermione said.

"Since the essay for Professor Snape," added Astoria.

"Ten points to Gryffindor and ten points to Ravenclaw," Snape chose this moment to make himself known to everyone in the room, "for following instructions and exhibiting some common sense."

Lupin stared at him for a while. Looking at the wand that he had pointed in the general direction of him and Sirius. "You two are quite clever," he finally said.

"No," Hermione said, "if I were so clever, I would have told everyone what you are!"

"But they already know," said Lupin. "At least, the staff do."

"Dumbledore hired you when he knew you were a werewolf?" Ron gasped.

"Is he mad?" Daphne asked.

"Some off the staff thought so," Lupin said, looking at Severus. "He had to work very hard to convince certain teachers that I'm trustworthy-"

"AND HE WAS WRONG!" Harry yelled. "Snape was right. You have been helping him all this time!"

Severus raised an eyebrow at that statement. He seemed rather amused by the number of Gryffindors suddenly on his side. "Seeing that I am the only one currently armed, I believe it is time that everyone calmed down and you two," he motioned towards Lupin and Black, "explained what is going on. If you don't convince me in the next five minutes, I am sure the Dementors will be happy to meet you."

"You-" Sirius hesitated, "You are giving me a chance to explain?"

"Thank Draco for that," he said, dismissively.

Draco felt relief wash over him. Snape gave them a chance. One more than they probably all deserved but now he knew that there was hope.

"If you haven't been helping him," Harry started, "how did you know he was here?"

"The map," Lupin answered and explained how he and Sirius and James and Peter had created the map in their youth.

"I knew it," Severus whispered.

"I was watching it carefully tonight," Lupin continued, not minding Snape. "And I saw you," he looked at Neville, Astoria and Daphne, "with Sirius. I immediately went to fetch Severus as I couldn't see where you were heading. By the way, how did you know where they were going?"

"Legilimency. I had suspected Draco was helping Black for quite some time now. Apparently, I wasn't wrong," Snape gave Draco a peculiar look that he couldn't quite place.

Draco shrugged his shoulders.

"I still don't get any of this," Harry muttered.

"It's quite simple," Draco stepped forward. "Sirius is innocent. He never was your parents' Secret Keeper. He had switched with Peter Pettigrew, who, by the way, is still alive. He is the one who betrayed your parents. Something else you should know: your father and Pettigrew and Black were all Animagi. Pettigrew framed Sirius and went into hiding in his animal form. That, of a rat."

He let that all sink in.

"That rat," Sirius said, taking the still unconscious rat out of Astoria's hands.

"You are mental," Ron whispered. "This is ridiculous," he said somewhat louder.

Then Lupin started to tell his story. How he had been turned into a werewolf. And how his friends had not only accepted it, but had become illegal Animagi to help him. "I always knew that Sirius was an Animagus. And even though I thought he was a murderer after Harry, I never told Dumbledore about it. Severus, you have been right. Dumbledore shouldn't have trusted me. He even sent me a letter over Christmas and I never told anyone about it."

Snape narrowed his eyes at Lupin, then looked at Black. "I am still not sure I believe you," he admitted.

"Then it is time for some proof," Sirius said, pointing at the rat. He then looked at Snape. "Since you are the only one with a wand…" he shrugged his shoulders.

"My pleasure," Severus said. He stepped towards the rat, but Ron jumped in front of him.

"No!" he looked frantic. "Leave Scabbers alone!"

"Out of the way, Weasley," demanded Snape.

"How do you even know it is him? There are a million rats out there! How would he even know about him if he was in Azkaban?"

"Fair questions," Snape conceded. "The newspaper?" he looked at Draco.

"Y-Yes," he nodded, looking between Snape and Harry.

Harry seemed to catch on. "The one he confiscated toady? The one about Egypt. It had a picture Ron's family on it…"

"And Scabbers," Ron whispered.

"How did you get it?" Lupin asked Sirius.

"Fudge," said Black. "When he came to inspect Azkaban last year, he gave me his paper. And there was Peter, on the front page… on this boy's shoulder… I knew him at once… how many times had I seen him transform? And the caption said the boy would be going back to Hogwarts… to where Harry was…"

"Hmm…" Severus mused, "the rat is missing a finger… right?"

"Uhm, yes?" Ron said.

"My God," whispered Lupin. "The biggest bit of Peter they found was his finger."

"Look, Scabbers probably had a fight with another rat or something! He's been in my family for ages, right-"

"Twelve years, in fact," said Lupin. "Haven't you ever wonder why he was living so long?"

"We – we've been taking good care of him!" said Ron.

"Not looking too good at the moment, though, is he?" said Lupin. "I'd guess he's been losing weight ever since he heard Sirius was on the loose again…"

"He's been scared of that mad cat!"

"No… no," Harry said. "He's been looking bad ever since you came back from Egypt, Ron. But you…" he looked at Sirius, "you said you killed my parents… just moments ago…"

"I… I as good as killed them, Harry. I told them to switch Secret Keepers. If I hadn't, they would have used me and still be alive."

"Enough of this," Snape roared. "The rat, Miss Greengrass." Astoria put Scabbers on the ground in front of Snape.

Snape handed Draco his wand back, as back up in case Sirius's story wasn't true, Draco assumed, and also gave Lupin his.

Lupin and Snape looked at each other and then a bright blue light shot out of their wands.

A head was shooting upwards from the ground; limbs were sprouting; next moment, a man was standing where Scabbers had been, cringing and wringing his hands.

"It is true," gasped Severus and Draco could feel everyone in the room growing tense.

"Well, hello, Peter," said Lupin pleasantly. "Long time, no see."

* * *

 

"S-Sirius… R-Remus…" Pettigrew croaked, looking wide eyed at his former friends. The man disgusted Draco to no end. He always had. "My friends… my old friends…"

"You little…" Sirius made a few steps towards Pettigrew, his eyes murderous, his arms outstretched as if to strangle him.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Draco yelled, and Sirius stopped mid-motion, stiffened and fell to his side. "I'm sorry, Sirius. But it is for your own good," Draco mumbled. He understood the rage, the disgust and the hurt, but it never ended well if one let such emotions take over.

Snape snorted, obviously amused.

"We've been having a little chat, Peter, about what happened the night Lily and James died," Remus started, seemingly unfazed by the petrified Sirius by his feet. His voice was calm, quiet, even, but Draco knew that under that calm surface, hot rage was burning.

"Remus," gasped Pettigrew. He was sweaty, his face pale and his whole body shaking. "You don't believe him, do you…? He tried to kill me, Remus…"

"So we've heard," said Lupin, more coldly. "I'd like to clear up one or two little matters with you, Peter, if you'd be so-"

"He's come to try and kill me again!" Pettigrew squeaked and pointed at Black with his middle finger. "He killed Lily and James and now he's going to kill me too… You've got to help me, Remus…"

"No one's going to try and kill you until we've sorted a few things out," said Lupin.

"Sorted things out?" squealed Pettigrew, looking wildly around the room. "I knew he'd come after me! I knew he'd be back for me! I've been waiting for this for twelve years!"

"You knew Sirius was going to break out of Azkaban?" asked Lupin, his brow furrowed. "When nobody has ever done it before?"

"He's got dark powers the rest of us can only dream of!" Pettigrew shouted shrilly. "How else did he get out of there? I suppose He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named taught him a few tricks!"

"Are you sure you have been hiding from him?" Draco asked. "And not, perhaps, from," he gulped, " _Voldemort_ 's supporters?"

Pettigrew flinched.

"Scared of your old master's name?" Draco taunted, although he had his own difficulties with the name. "You should be. If they find out you are still alive… Won't end good for you, I bet."

"Don't know… what you're talking about…," said Pettigrew shrilly. "You don't believe this – this madness, Remus-"

"I must admit, Peter, I have difficulty in understanding why an innocent man would want to spend twelve years as a rat," said Lupin evenly.

"Innocent, but scared!" squealed Pettigrew.

"Scared because both sides want you dead?" Draco asked with a raised eyebrow.

"N-No. If Voldemort's supporters were after me, it was because I put one of their best men in Azkaban – the spy, Sirius Black!"

Draco could feel Sirius struggling against his spell. Seeing no reason to keep him further incapacitated, he released him.

"How dare you," he jumped to his feet. "I, a spy for Voldemort?"

Pettigrew squealed and jumped back from Sirius.

"Ehm," Hermione's tentative voice interrupted, "may I say something?"

"Certainly, Hermione," answered Lupin.

"Well – Scabbers – I mean, this – this man – he's been sleeping in Harry's dormitory for three years. If he's working for You-Know-Who, why did he never try to hurt Harry before?"

"There!" said Pettigrew shrilly. "Thank you! You see, Remus? I have never hurt a hair of Harry's head! Why should I?"

"I tell you why," said Black bitterly. "Because you never did anything for anyone unless you could see what was in it for you. Voldemort's been in hiding for fifteen years, they say he's half dead. You weren't about to commit murder right under Albus Dumbledore's nose, for a wreck of a wizard who'd lost all of his power, were you? You'd want to be quite sure he was the biggest bully in the playground before you went back to him, wouldn't you? Why else did you find a wizard family to take you in? Keeping an ear out for news, weren't you, Peter? Just in case your old protector regained strength, and it was safe to rejoin him…"

"Mr. Black-" Hermione interrupted again, "Sirius- how did you get out of Azkaban?"

Sirius started to explain. How he stayed sane in his dog form and how he learned about Pettigrew being alive and at Hogwarts. Things Draco had heard several times already. "It was as if someone had lit a fire in my head, and the dementors couldn't destroy it… It wasn't a happy feeling… it was an obsession… but it gave me strength, it cleared my mind. So, one night when they opened my door to bring food, I slipped past them as a dog… It's so much harder for them to sense animal emotions that they were confused… I was thin, very thin… thin enough to slip through the bars… I swam as a dog back to the mainland… I journeyed north and slipped into the Hogwarts grounds as a dog. I've been living in the forest ever since…"

"But what do Malfoy and Neville have to do with any of this?" Harry asked, an eyebrow raised but Draco could see that they were winning him over, too.

"That," said Snape, "is something I would like to know as well."

"They found me," Sirius explained, and a smile crept upon his features. "They found me when I had hit rock bottom. The world believed I was a traitor and killer. I was cold and alone and miserable. That's when they found me. And believed me. They brought me food, talked to me and calmed my irrational, obsessed mind. They became my friends."

"Mr. Malfoy," Snape drawled, realization in his eyes, "has Mr. Goyle ever really visited you over the winter holidays?"

Draco flashed him an apologetic smile.

"Polyjuice?" he asked.

"Was nice having tea with you, Sniv- ouch!" Draco had sent a stinger in Sirius' direction, "Snape. Anyways, they also helped me catch the rat. Our first attempts weren't so successful. But today… With Astoria and Daphne helping... We finally... I... Harry? You have to believe me," he croaked. "I never betrayed your parents. S-Severus... I know you think the worst of me, but you must know that James was like a brother to me. I would have given my life to save theirs."

Harry was nodding, apparently won over by Sirius' heartfelt speech. And slowly, almost imperceptible, Severus nodded in Sirius' direction as well.

"No!" Pettigrew screamed and began to beg everyone in the room to spare him. "Please. Please, don't." He knelt, trembling uncontrollably. When he fell on deaf ears with everyone else, he turned towards Harry. "Harry… Harry…" Pettigrew shuffled towards him, hands outstretched, "You look just like your father… just like him…"

"Don't touch him," hissed Snape.

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO HIM?" roared Sirius. "HOW DARE YOU FACE HIM? HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT JAMES IN FRONT OF HIM?"

"You sold Lily and James to Voldemort," hissed Snape, shaking with anger. "Do you deny it?"

Pettigrew burst into tears.

"What could I have done? The Dark Lord… you have no idea… he has weapons you can't imagine… I was scared. I was never brave like Sirius, Remus and James. I never meant it to happen… He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named forced me-"

"DON'T LIE!" bellowed Black. "You'd been passing information to him for a year before Lily and James died! You were his spy!"

"He – he was taking over everywhere!" gasped Pettigrew. "Wh- what was there to be gained by refusing him?"

"What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wizard who had ever existed?" said Black, with a terrible fury in his face. "Only innocent lives, Peter!"

"You don't understand!" he whined. "He would have killed me, Sirius!"

"THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" roared Black. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!"

"You should have realized," said Lupin quietly, "if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would. Good-bye, Peter."

Snape and Lupin, stepped towards the trembling man, wands out, ready to kill him, but Sirius, Neville and Draco all jumped in front of them, screaming, "NO!"

"Out of the way," growled Snape.

"You can't kill him. I need him alive to clear my name," argued Sirius.

Snape huffed but lowered his wand. Lupin stared at Sirius for a while and Draco wondered if he found a rational Sirius as weird as he did. With a flick of his wand, he tied Pettigrew up. He tied him to himself and to Weasley. Snape gave everyone else their wands back.

They all started back towards the castle. None of them were in a very talkative mood but Draco could hear Sirius and Harry discuss how Sirius could take him in as his godfather.

"Leave the Dursleys?" Harry asked. "Of course I want to leave the Dursleys!"

Snape snorted. "Have you ever met Petunia? Of course he wants to leave them."

Harry stared at him with an open mouth. "Have  _you_?"

Snape just shrugged his shoulders and let Black, who looked at him in an odd sort of way that Draco couldn't decipher, and Potter, continue discussing living arrangements.

Once they had reached the end of the tunnel, stepped outside and walked for a bit, Snape commented, "It is the full moon tonight…" he turned towards Lupin, "You have taken you last dose of Wolfsbane, right?"

Everyone stopped in their tracks and Lupin went rigid, staring at Snape with wide eyes.

"Run," Black whispered. "Run, now."

But with Lupin tied to Pettigrew and Weasley, they couldn't run. They could not let Pettigrew escape, nor could they let Lupin kill him or Weasley. Draco felt panic rise within him. He felt trapped and helpless.

Harry jumped towards Ron, but Sirius caught him and held him back. "Leave it to me – RUN!"

There was a terrible snarling noise. Lupin's head was lengthening. So was his body. His shoulders were hunching. Hair was sprouting visibly on his face and hands, which were curling into clawed paws as he dropped his wand.

Sirius turned into his dog form and charged towards the wolf.

Snape made a step forward and with a quick flick of his wand had freed Ron and Pettigrew from Lupin.

Ron fell to the ground, Pettigrew used the moment to dive for Lupin's dropped wand. Before anyone could react, he had sent stunners at Ron and Daphne, who were now lying motionless on the ground.

"Expelliarmus!" roared Snape. The spell hit Pettigrew square in the chest, which sent him stumbling backwards. Snape caught the wand midair.

Draco noticed Pettigrew turning into his rat form. "No!" He ran towards him and tackled him, bringing them both to the ground. He just wanted to keep the man in place, but Pettigrew threw his right knee into Draco's gut, which led Draco to punch him in the face. Soon they were fighting, like muggles, on the ground, the fighting werewolf and dog right next to them momentarily forgotten.

Draco barely noticed how Snape stepped between the animals and the fighting men, trying to shield the children from the werewolf.

Pettigrew drew his arm back to punch Draco in the face, but Harry had joined their fight, holding on to Pettigrew's arm.

Draco vaguely noted how the werewolf seemed to overpower Sirius, but Sirius was soon supported by Granger, the Greengrass sisters and Neville, who all sent hexes towards the werewolf. Snape joined the fight as well.

The horrible scene around him momentarily distracted Draco, and Pettigrew used this distraction to snatch Draco's wand, sending him and Potter flying in the air. Pettigrew tried to run but got hit by a stinger sent from Neville, who now bravely stood in his way.

Pettigrew was being surrounded and obviously felt trapped. As a last, desperate attempt to distract them and flee he yelled "Sectumsempra."

Draco froze. He knew that spell. Cold dread washed over him. The spell went right past him. Everything went dead quiet. It had hit someone, thought Draco helplessly.

Draco turned around in time to see Astoria, covered in blood, fall to the ground.


	11. Chapter 11

_The horrible scene of his friends fighting a werewolf momentarily distracted Draco, and Pettigrew used this distraction to snatch Draco's wand, sending him and Potter flying in the air. Pettigrew tried to run but got hit by a stinger sent from Neville, who now bravely stood in his way._

_Pettigrew was being surrounded and obviously felt trapped. As a last, desperate attempt to distract them and flee he yelled "_ Sectumsempra _."_

_Draco froze. He knew that spell. Cold dread washed over him. The spell went right past him. Everything went dead quiet. It had hit someone, thought Draco helplessly._

_Draco turned around in time to see Astoria, covered in blood, fall to the ground._

"No!" screamed Draco and ran towards her. He fell on his knees beside her. "Astoria," he cried as his trembling hands tried to cover some of the heavily bleeding wounds. But the slashes were many and deep, covering her chest and throat, and his hands did little to stop the bleeding.

Her hazel eyes were glassy and wide and looking right at Draco. She opened her lips but only a gurgling, choking noise escaped her. Horror filled Draco as he realized that the spell must have cut her trachea. He moved his blood covered hands to her throat, hoping they would do more good there.

"Shh," he whispered, "Don't speak. Everything is going to be alright. I'm here, you'll be fine."

He couldn't see anything but the blood and her eyes and couldn't hear anything but a jingling in his ears and her ragged breathing.

"Severus!" he yelled. Snape had helped him when Potter had used that spell, surely, he could help her too.

Her face was ashen by now, her lips blue, and she had stopped moving.

"Help!" he croaked in a desperate voice.

Draco heard a loud "Incarcerous!" and a second later, Snape was next to him and gently pushed him aside.

Snape traced the wounds with his wand, muttering "Vulnera Sanentur," over and over again. It sounded like a song and his smooth voice calmed Draco's racing heart somewhat. When the wounds started to heal, Draco's panic and fear left him and he was filled with something else: primal fury.

The air grew colder as he stood up. Apparently, the Dementors had noticed the commotion and were closing in on them.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Draco could see Neville running into the forest. Figuring that he was probably chasing the rat, Draco grabbed Astoria's wand and went after him.

Empowered by his rage, he quickly ran past Neville and closed in on the fleeing Pettigrew.

" _CRUCIO_ ," he roared, pointing Astoria's wand at Pettigrew's back.

Pettigrew fell and started to twitch on the ground. He thrashed and howled in pain, a sight that did little to soothe the boiling rage inside of Draco.

"CRUCIO!" he yelled again. Never before had he been so angry and never before had his curse been so violent.

Draco's rage finally dissipated somewhat after he cast the spell a third time.

He took a few deep breaths, using a silent  _Accio_  to get his own wand back from the still thrashing and screaming man. He put Astoria's into the pocket of his robe.

Pettigrew stopped wriggling on the ground. Draco could see him pulling something out of his pocket. It was shining golden in the moonlight.

"Oh no," Draco gulped. He frantically started to search his pockets. But he couldn't find it. It was gone! The time-turner was gone!

He could see Pettigrew's fingers fumbling with it. He must have grabbed it while they were fighting on the ground. Behind him he heard Neville coming closer. He didn't have enough time. Not enough time!

In his panic, Draco screamed "Diffindo!", pointing his wand at the time-turner. He could see the time-turner falling apart, clattering on the ground.

"CRUCIO," he bellowed, newly enraged by the sight of the broken time-turner. "A-"

"Draco!" he could hear someone yelling before he got tackled from behind and fell to the ground with the other party landing on him.

When Draco looked in the direction of Pettigrew, he had already turned into his rat form and scurried away. Draco wrestled his arm free and shot a stunner after him, but missed the tiny rodent. Then it was out of view.

"You," Draco screamed, jumping to his feet and pointing his wand at his attacker - Neville. "You let him get away!"

"D-Draco," Neville was shaking but soon caught himself. "You were going to kill him! Are you out of your damn mind?"

It took a while for the words to register in Draco's mind. Neville was right. He took a few calming breaths before he noticed that he was aiming his wand at a friend and lowered it immediately. "D-Did you see what he did to Astoria?" he asked, his voice shaking.

Neville didn't say anything.

"He- he…" Draco started trembling again.

He had failed. Failed at protecting Astoria. Failed at catching Pettigrew. Failed at saving Sirius.

And he couldn't even go back to undo his mistakes anymore.

He fell to his knees, a sob escaping him. It got so cold, he could see his breath even though his sorrow was so heavy he could barely breathe.

"Draco," Neville whispered frantically, edging closer to Draco, "the Dementors."

But Draco didn't care. So, what if they got them? The world was better off without Draco in it.

"Draco! We need to get back to the castle!" Neville grabbed him by the shoulders, but Draco shook him off. "Draco?"

Draco could feel how Neville grabbed him by the arm and dragged him along, back to the others, who were surrounded by Dementors. The werewolf was also close to freeing himself from the conjured ties.

It was over, Draco thought. Over. They were all going to die. And it was his fault.

He watched Snape fighting for Astoria's life and Harry desperately conjuring shapeless Patronuses to keep the Dementors at bay. It was useless, Draco thought numbly.

But when all hope seemed lost, a blinding light lit up the night and with it Draco's will to fight and live returned. A bright, flaming phoenix flew around them, driving away the Dementors.

Draco turned his head. Dumbledore had arrived at the scene, his Patronus stronger than any magic Draco had ever experienced. With a flick of his wand, he detained Lupin, who had just freed himself, again. He strode towards Snape, a stern look on his face. They exchanged a few words.

The children gathered around them. For once, Draco felt like Dumbledore looked his age. A somber expression, no twinkling in his eyes.

Dumbledore told everyone to hold on to him. Snape held Astoria in his arms and Harry was holding the beaten body of his godfather in dog form. And then they apparated.

Draco had forgotten that the headmaster was in control of the anti-apparation wards on the Hogwarts grounds.

Next thing he knew, they were in the infirmary.

Snape and Pomfrey immediately tended to Astoria and Draco was relieved to see that besides being very pale and having a few nasty scars on her, she seemed alright.

Potter was holding onto Black. His dog form, which was bleeding heavily, but otherwise seemed okay. Potter put him on a bed and he transformed back into his human form.

After Madam Pomfrey did everything she could for Astoria, she walked over to Black. With a sneer, she conjured handcuffs, which tied him to his bed. Then she tended to his injuries.

Draco looked around the room. Daphne was by her sister's side and Neville was standing next to the Gryffindor Golden Trio. After some internal debate, Draco slowly walked over to them.

They all looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

"So," Harry finally said to Draco, "Were you trying to kill me and messed it up spectacularly or were you trying to help me?"

"Oh, the world doesn't just evolve around you, Potter" Draco smirked. "I wanted to help Sirius," he continued, more seriously.

"So you knew he wasn't going to kill me?" Harry asked for clarification.

"Yes," Draco sighed. "I was not trying to get you killed. And believe it or not, I wouldn't have helped him if I had thought he would try to hurt you." Had he really been that horrible of a person that no one could believe he might help someone without any selfish reasons?

"Why?" Weasley looked at him wearily.

Draco shrugged his shoulders.

"No offense, but two whole years you hate our guts and try to make our lives as difficult as possible, and suddenly you are helping us?"

"Leave him alone," Neville said. "He helped. Isn't that the only thing that is important right now?"

No one said anything. Draco flashed Neville a smile but Neville did not return it. Instead, he looked at Draco wearily.

Dumbledore, who had been talking to Snape up until now, walked over to them.

"Headmaster," Harry greeted.

Draco felt queasy so close to Dumbledore. Thoughts of the Astronomy tower flashed before his eyes and he had to sit down on one of the beds. He concentrated on his breathing and occluded the best he could.

"What will happen with Sirius?" asked Hermione. She probably assumed that Snape had already explained everything of relevance.

"The minister will arrive here shortly and Aurors will-"

"But he is innocent," interrupted Neville.

"So I've been told," Dumbledore didn't seem to mind the interruption. "I will talk to the minister in the hopes of giving Mr. Black the proper trial he would have deserved in the first place."

Draco nodded. That sounded good. Maybe he hadn't failed Sirius completely.

"Now," Dumbledore continued, studying every one of them, his gaze lingering on Draco, "I would like to know what happened."

The children all looked at each other, before they started their tale. Neville began the story as he knew more than the others. He left out why Draco and him had been in the Forbidden Forest, but besides that everything he said was the truth. When he got to the part with the Shrieking Shack, the Golden Trio took over. Draco kept quiet, listening to the others telling their tale, watching Astoria and Daphne.

* * *

 

By the time they had explained what had happened in the forest, the door to the infirmary burst open and the minister strode in, followed by a few Aurors and, to Draco's immense surprise, his parents. Apparently, news had spread fast at the ministry.

"Draco!" Narcissa yelped dramatically and sprinted to his side. She embraced her son, nearly squashing him.

"Mother," Draco complained, but secretly enjoyed the display of affection. His parents usually did not show their emotions so freely in public. "I am alright. No need to change that by squeezing me to death."

Narcissa took a step back, taking in the appearance of her son with raised eyebrows. Draco took a look at himself as well, noticing that his hands were covered in dried blood and his clothes in dirt.

"Really," he added meekly. "It looks far worse than it is."

Lucius stood behind her, giving his son a worried look. He then looked at the kids standing around him, wrinkling his nose.

Narcissa also looked around the room, her gaze lingering on Sirius. Without a word, she stood up and approached him.

"Mother," Draco called after her and she turned around and looked at him. "He is innocent."

Narcissa nodded and continued her walk. She stopped in front of the bed Sirius was lying on, his eyes closed.

She stared at him for a while, her face unreadable.

His eyes fluttered open and he looked at her. A weak smile tucking at his lips. "Long time no see, Cissy."

"He will be kissed tonight!" the minister announced, interrupting their reunion.

Draco and the others jumped up to defend him.

"No!" Narcissa spun around. "He is a Black and as such deserves a proper trial."

"Narcissa," Lucius took a step towards his wife, obviously not sharing this sentiment.

"Don't you  _Narcissa_  me," she hissed. "Draco said he is innocent and I believe him. And Sirius is part of the family. If he is innocent, he deserves a trial. And I want the real perpetrator who attacked my son to be found and punished."

Sirius smiled at her.

Lucius looked between the minister and his wife. Draco knew that his father despised Sirius, but he also knew that he would do everything for his mother.

Lucius closed his eyes, his brows furrowed. When he opened them again, he had a sickly-sweet smile on his face. "Cornelius," he said, approaching the minister. "I am sure we can talk about this."

* * *

Later that day, the Aurors left with Sirius in tow, followed by a satisfied Narcissa, an unhappy Lucius and a confused minister. Lucius had succeeded in convincing Fudge that Sirius deserved a fair trial and the minister had promised to give him one. Not that he had much of a choice if Harry Potter, the Malfoys and Albus Dumbledore stood behind Black.

* * *

"Never thought I'd be happy to have your parents around," Harry chuckled, once the grown ups had left the room. They still had to stay back to be checked by Madame Pomfrey.

"I'm sorry I slapped you," Hermione said, sounding sincere.

"Don't worry about it," Draco shrugged it off. "You thought I was helping a serial killer kill your best friend. I'd say I got off lightly."

"Why didn't you just tell us?" asked Harry.

"Would you have believed me? If I had just walked over to you and told you?"

"Honestly? I guess not," Harry conceded. "But what about you, Neville? We would have listened to you."

"Would you?" Neville asked. "Because so far you haven't. And you never trust me with any of the things you are up to. You also have the tendency to run into trouble. I was scared you might do something rash."

The trio looked at each other.

"Then why not go to a teacher?" Hermione finally asked.

Neville pondered this. "I don't know. I wanted to tell someone, but Draco was against it."

"I said we could tell Snape," Draco defended himself, although he knew Neville was right. He had only suggested Snape because he knew Neville would never agree to tell him. 

"You're bonkers," interrupted Ron.

"He would have never listened to me!" agreed Neville.

"And you think McGonagall would have listened to me?" Draco asked. "Also, Snape did help us. He saved Astoria."

Neville didn't know what to say. "Maybe I also didn't tell anyone because I wanted to prove that I belong into Gryffindor. That I can be brave, too."

"Oh but of course you belong to us, Neville," Hermione said.

Neville gave her a weak smile.

Daphne walked over to them.

"Hey," Draco greeted her, the others looked more guarded again. "How is Astoria?"

"She is asleep now," Daphne said with a shaky voice. Draco could tell that she had been crying. "Snape and Pomfrey did everything they could. But she still looks so weak."

"I'm sure she will be fine," Hermione tried to comfort her.

Daphne started to cry, and Draco put an arm around her.

"I- I'm sorry I dragged you and Astoria into this," Draco whispered.

"Oh no," she said, "we knew what we were getting into. We knew it might be dangerous. We wanted to help," she smiled at him and then turned her head to tentatively smile in the direction of the Gryffindors. "And you are brave, Neville. You fought a mass murderer. That's pretty brave in my books," she added.

"But so were you and your sister. Maybe bravery is not something that only Gryffindors possess," pondered Harry.

Draco was happy to see that apparently Slytherins and Gryffindors could get along, if they wanted to.

"Terrible, that after all, he still got away," sighed Daphne.

"This is all my fault," Draco said. "Maybe we really should have told someone instead of doing this ourselves."

"I don't think it is your fault," Harry said. "Yesterday, Professor Trelawney went very – very strange. Her voice went all deep and her eyes rolled and she said… she said Voldemort's servant was going to set out to return to him before midnight… she said the servant would help him come back to power. And then she sort of became normal again, and she couldn't remember anything she'd said. I think she was making a real prediction."

"Great," Draco moaned, "so I brought  _Him_  back. At least my parents will be proud."

"That… That's not what I wanted to say. What I wanted to say is: I think this was destined to happen. I don't think this was anyone's fault. It would have happened, no matter what we did."

This somewhat calmed Draco. Pettigrew had, after all, gotten away the first time as well, so maybe it really wasn't his fault. And Sirius was getting a fair trial, which was something that had never happened the first time. So maybe he had made things better.

Madame Pomfrey examined all of them and although only Astoria had suffered something worse than a few scratches, all of them had to stay the night.

Draco couldn't fall asleep for a long time. He dreaded the next day. Dumbledore would have questions. Snape would have questions. The other Slytherins would have questions. The whole school, probably. And by the way he had been acting, Neville seemed to have some questions, too. He wasn't sure whether he would be able to answer people's questions or not. Or if he even wanted to answer them.

The events of the day had also shocked him quite thoroughly. Sirius had been caught, Astoria had been hurt, the time-turner was destroyed, and he had nearly killed a man. It took him a long time to fall asleep that night.

* * *

When Draco woke up the next morning, he looked around the room. He seemed to be the first one awake. He made his way over to Astoria's bed. She looked a lot better already. There were a few faint scars on her throat and looking at them made Draco angry again.

He turned away from her and found Professor Lupin looking at him.

"Good morning, Draco," he said hoarsely.

"Good morning, Professor," Draco nodded.

Remus Lupin did not look well. Scars and bruises covered his whole body. But what was worse, was the look on his face. He looked devastated.

"I fear I won't be your professor for much longer," he said.

"What? Why?"

"You have seen what happened yesterday. I can't risk this happening again. I endangered you and your friends. And it is my fault, Peter got away. As soon as I am out of here, I will resign."

"No! You can't do that. You are the best Defense teacher we ever had."

"Please don't resign," croaked a voice from behind Draco.

"Astoria! You are awake," Draco beamed.

"Morning," she smiled. She looked weak but not unhappy.

"How are you feeling?"

"I've been better," she admitted. "But I'll be alright," she turned her gaze from Draco to Lupin. "Please don't resign, Professor. No one is blaming you for what has happened. And I won't tell anyone about… you know what."

"That is very sweet of you, but-"

"No," Draco interrupted him. "No buts. You will stay."

Remus looked at him. "I- I will think about it. And I will talk to the others. If they feel the same way as you two do, I will consider staying for the rest of the year."

Draco smiled. At last, some good news.

* * *

 

By lunch time, they – with the exception being Astoria – were allowed to leave the infirmary.

While the others were heading for the Great Hall to eat, Neville had taken Draco aside and told him that they needed to talk.

They went into an abandoned classroom. Draco had a bad feeling about that. He could feel that Neville was mad.

"You cast the Cruciatus yesterday," Neville started straight away, his tone accusing, and Draco gulped. "You used the Cruciatus several times. An Unforgiveable."

"Neville-"

"You should be in Azkaban for that!" Neville shouted.

Draco took a step back and held his hands up in surrender. "You are right. What I did was wrong. And I am sorry. But I was just… so mad. I thought about everything he had done. The dead muggles. Potter's parents. Sirius. A-Astoria," his voice wavered. "I lost control."

"The curse… which was used on my parents… which drove them insane… You used it…" Neville shook his head, as if he could not believe what Draco had done.

Draco looked on the ground in shame. "I really am sorry. I shouldn't have done it." He should have used a stunner. Or a  _Petrificul Totalus_. Anything would have been better than what he had done. Had he had more control over himself, Pettigrew would not have escaped. 

"How do you even know that curse?"Neville continued. "Where have you learned it?"

"Uhm-"

"Don't lie to me. You might think I'm stupid, but I am not!"

"I- I don't think you are stupid. Uhm- my parents taught me."

"Your parents taught you –  _a 13 year old_  – how to use Unforgivables?" his eyes narrowed.

"Ehm… yes."

Neville laughed a humorless laugh. "Right. Did they also teach you the Killing Curse? That's what you were going to use next, right?"

Draco didn't say anything.

"Right?"

"I- I don't know. But if I had, I don't think it would have worked. I am not a killer."

"Are you sure? I think Harry and Ron were right. You've always hated us. You always hated Gryffindor and mudbloods. You were always strutting around, spouting that pureblood gibberish."

Draco flinched at his use of the word mudblood.

"I thought we were... I don't know, friends," Neville continued, "but maybe that was just my take on things and you were just lying to me and using me for some twisted plan of yours..."

"Nev, I-"

"On which side are you even on?" Neville asked, interrupting Draco and looking at him intently. "Were you really on Harry's side or were you secretly hoping Sirius was who everyone said he was and would kill Harry? I wouldn't have believed Sirius if you hadn't told me to. I would have told a teacher. Maybe you hoped he would kill Harry and me..."

That stung. "O- on yours. And on P- Harry's. We are on the same side, Neville."

"My side doesn't use the Cruciatus. People on my side don't use the Killing Curse, either. Or call people mudbloods. Or call  _Him_  "Dark Lord"." He didn't say anything for a few seconds. "Snape is one of them too, isn't he?" Neville looked Draco right in the eyes.

"Huh?"

"A Death Eater. That's what everyone says he is. Is he?"

Draco didn't answer. He should just say no. It would be easy enough and perhaps Neville would believe him. But somehow he could not get himself to say the word.

"Draco?"

"He is a good man. He helped us," he said instead.

"Being good in one aspect of life doesn't make being bad in another okay!" he replied angrily. "And I am not sure what you mean by he is helping us. Helping us?" he pointed at Draco and then at himself, "or helping you and your Death Eater friends?"

"Come on, Neville. We are on the same side. We are friends."

"I thought we were friends. But it seems like there's a whole lot you haven't been telling me."

"That's not true!"

"I never quite got why you would all of a sudden want to be friends with me, of all people," Neville said, hurt and betrayal in his eyes. "Say, Draco: Did your parents also teach you how to cast nonverbally? Or how to perform stunners?"

Uh oh. Neville really was quite perceptive.

"I- ehm-" Draco stammered. He was so screwed.

"Don't lie to me! And I saw what Pettigrew took out of your pocket. Why do you have a time-turner, Draco?"

"I- I can't tell you that."

"Can't or won't?"

"Neville, please." Draco took a step towards Neville, but he took a step back.

"Tell me! Tell me, or I will tell Dumbledore about it. I will tell him everything!"

Draco didn't say anything, so Neville turned around to leave the room.

Draco pointed his wand at the door and it shut and locked within seconds.

"I can't let you do that, Neville."

Neville turned around, looking scared.

Draco had his want pointed at him and a million possibilities flew through Draco's head. Obliviate. Confundo. Lies. Things could be just the way they used to. Neville could forget all that had happened and think that Draco was still the same old bastard that he used to be. Draco could be his original self again. It would definitely be easier. But when he looked at Neville, an innocent 13-year-old who had given him a chance even though there were a million things arguing against it, he knew that there was only one thing he could do.

Draco lowered his wand.

"You want the truth?" he said, his voice hoarse. "You are right. I hated mudbloods and blood traitors and everything Gryffindor. I worshiped the Dark Lord. And I became a Death Eater."

He did not want to hurt him, and, as crazy as it sounded, he wanted to be friends with Neville, the boy who gave him the benefit of the doubt. He also couldn't go back to the way things were. The thought alone made him feel sick. Of course he could have used his knowledge to become Voldemort's right hand man, but the thought sickened him and he just wasn't that kind of person anymore.

"What- what are you talking about?" Neville took a few steps back. "Voldemort is gone. You can't be a Death Eater!"

"I  _am_  not a Death Eater. I  _Was_  one. Tiny difference."

"I- I- Draco, I don't understand," he looked quite helpless.

"By the end of next year, the Dark Lord will return and I will become one of his followers. There will be a war. The Dark Lord will lose."

"How can you say this?"

"Because it already happened to me. You were right, I shouldn't be able to cast nonverbals or Unforgivables or even stunners. But I can. Because I am not 13 but already old enough to have my own children in Hogwarts. What I am trying to tell you is this: I travelled back in time. Using the time-turner you saw, the one which is now destroyed."

"No! That's impossible. Time-turners don't go that far back."

"It's one of a kind. I don't know how it works. Nott built it, but we can't ask him because that won't happen for a few years…"

"You are lying!"

"Neville! Think about it. It makes sense. Why else would I suddenly change sides? Why else would I know spells I shouldn't know? Why else would I have a time-turner?"

Neville sat down on one of the chairs in the classroom, grabbing his head.

Draco took a step back and gave him some space and the time to think everything through.

Finally, Neville looked at him. Not scared anymore, but desperate. "So you lied to me?"

"I never lied to you. When you asked me why I helped you… I said it was because of a sick relative. Because losing people changes your perspective and makes you reevaluate things. Well, I lost people in the war. So many people died. Sirius died. Dumbledore died. Crabbe died. Lupin died… My wife died. Not because of the war but because she was sick. I thought… I thought coming back I could save her. Find a solution and save her. That wasn't a lie."

Neville stared at him with an open mouth.

"I didn't plan to change anything but… things just happened. And the more I think about it, the more I realize that I will have to change things," Draco's voice was raw and full of emotions, "I... I can't become a Death Eater again. I- what I said earlier is true. I am not a killer. I tried but I just can't do it and I don't want to do it. I can't even pretend to be one of them anymore. I can't just let all these people die again if I know how to prevent it. I can't!" Draco started to hyperventilate.

"Calm down, Draco," Neville said worriedly.

"No! You have no idea what I have seen. What I have  _done_. Every horrible thing you ever thought of me is true. I committed horrible crimes. My original self would have never wanted to be friends with you and he would have loved to see Sirius hurt Potter! I almost killed Weasley and I didn't even care! What kind of person- I- I can't! I don't want to."

"Shhh," Neville moved closer to Draco, petting his back. "I believe you. It's okay."

Draco let out a sob. He hadn't known how desperately he needed to talk to someone about all of this and how close to the surface everything still was, even years later.

"Can- can you tell me about the future?" Neville asked.

Draco shook his head. "You'll hate me."

Neville thought about this for a while. "No. I won't hate you. You are clearly sorry for everything you did and you are trying to make things better."

Draco set down, not saying anything for a while. Then he looked at Neville. "What do you want to know?"

"Hmm… I don't know. Maybe start at when you arrived here and tell me what happened in the original time?"

Draco took a few breaths to collect his thoughts and to calm down somewhat.

"I arrived here a few hours before the Hogwarts Express left King's Cross," he began. "Originally, the Dementors only affected P- Harry on the train. All of Slytherin made fun of him for the rest of the year." He didn't mention that that included him. "One of the hippogriffs attacked me during our first Care of Magical Creatures class – I think they killed it later. Made Hagrid's lessons really boring… I wasn't there when Potter fell off his broom so he got hurt rather badly… Well, at the end of the year, Sirius fled, and no one believed the golden trio that he was innocent. Pettigrew got away, too. The year after that, Pettigrew brought the D- ehm-" Draco wasn't sure how he was supposed to call Voldemort now. " _Him_ back. Killed Cedric Diggory in the process."

"That guy on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team?"

Draco nodded. "Yeah, him. Potter said that  _He_  was back, but no one really believed him. Only when they- the Death Eaters – broke into the Ministry the next year, did they believe him. My aunt Bellatrix killed Sirius back then… Are you okay?"

Neville looked rather pale. "No, but it's fine. Continue."

"Ehm… Well, that's when the war started. My father got arrested, sent to Azkaban, because he failed to deliver the boy who lived.  _He_  was quite angry with my father and wanted to punish me. He… he…"

Oh, how was he supposed to tell Neville that he tried to kill Dumbledore?

"I… I was supposed to…" he started to play with the hem of his robe, not looking at Neville. He stared into the distance. "I was supposed to kill Dumbledore."

Okay, he had said it. He closed his eyes, scared of what he would see on Neville's face. He was surprised to feel tears trickling down his cheeks. "He told me," he croaked, "he told me that I had to do it or he would kill my family."

When Neville still didn't say anything, Draco looked at him. He looked sad and obviously pitied Draco, but he didn't see any disgust on his face.

"You know," Draco continued, "every horrible thing they tell you about him? He is way worse than that."

"He wanted you to fail, didn't he? I mean, you are quite clever, but killing Dumbledore?"

Draco let out a humorless laugh. "You'd be surprised. But yes, he wanted to punish my father and he knew I would do everything to protect my family. If I succeeded, good for him. If not... well he never expected me to succeed anyways so no loss, either... I almost killed some students in my stupid attempts to kill him. But I succeeded in letting Death Eaters into the school… I had Dumbledore unarmed… If I had used the curse, he would have been dead. But… I couldn't. I just couldn't."

"What happened then?"

"One of the others killed him."

Neville gasped. "Who?"

Draco shook his head.

"Draco, who?" Neville said, more urgently.

"I can't tell you. Please, just leave it be."

Neville looked at him for a few seconds. "It was Snape, wasn't it?"

Draco turned his head away, not saying anything.

"I knew it. I knew it all along. Why does Dumbledore trust him-"

"Wait! It's not like that. He was a spy. For him. Dumbledore was dying anyways and he didn't want me to become a killer, so he… And I think my mother had talked to Snape as well… Dumbledore wanted Snape to kill him. A mercy killing for him and something that would guarantee Snape to become  _His_  most trusted servant. Snape never wanted that… He looked so… I don't know, lifeless? Like an empty shell, after that day. But he did everything he could to protect the students at Hogwarts and bring down the Dark Lord."

Neville buried his head in his hands, not even bothering to comment on Draco calling  _Him_  the Dark Lord. "That's horrible."

"Oh this was only just the beginning. The Death Eaters took over the Ministry and Hogwarts after that… The killings began… It was really bad. But still, Potter won in the end. He vouched for me, after that. For me and my family. So we wouldn't go to Azkaban. I don't know why he did it. I didn't deserve it. I don't deserve any of this. A second chance…"

Neville looked up. "You do. You regret what you did and you are making up for it. If anyone deserves the chance to right their wrongs, it's you."

Draco smiled at Neville. He was really happy that he had befriended this boy.

Neville didn't ask any more questions. But he did have something else to say.

"You need to tell Dumbledore."

Draco wanted to argue. Give excuses. But he knew that Neville was right. If he really wanted to do things right, he had to tell Dumbledore.


	12. Chapter 12

Neville accompanied Draco all the way to the stone gargoyle. Neither of them said much. Draco dreaded the confrontation with Dumbledore but he knew that Neville was right. If he truly wanted to cause any positive change he had to talk to the man in charge. Neville was probably lost in his own thoughts and Draco could not blame him. Finding out that your enemy turned best friend was a time traveling Death Eater was admittedly a bit much. 

"This is it," Draco sighed once they had reached the staircase leading to the headmaster's office.

"You can do it," Neville smiled at him encouragingly. "Do you want me to join you?"

He did, but he knew he had to do it alone. "It's okay. Go and have lunch."

Neville left, and Draco turned towards the stone gargoyle, wondering what the password might be. But before he could finish his thought, the gargoyle stepped aside, making room for the spiraling staircase.

Fawkes sat on his perch, eyeing Draco with a look of curiosity and suspicion when he entered the office.

"Good evening, Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk. He did not seem surprised to see Draco. His sparking blue eyes were looking up from behind his half moon spectacles. "Please, have a seat."

Draco, however, remained standing as memories washed over him. It felt as if it was only yesterday that he had seen the light in the old man's eyes fade away. Seeing the man again, slightly younger, and ignorant of his future, was a strange sight to behold. His emotions made a loophole through his heart and mind.

"Would you like some tea, perhaps?"

Draco could have laughed. Tea? In a situation like this? But he found himself nodding in agreement and watched Dumbledore conjure up a teapot along with two mugs. As he poured them both a mug of hot tea, Draco gave in and sat down opposite of Dumbledore at his desk.

They both drank their tea in silence, Dumbledore patiently waiting for Draco to talk. Draco found himself relax a little, losing the tension that had been building up inside of him with each step on the spiraling staircase.

"I assume you are here to discuss last night's events?" Dumbledore finally asked, but Draco assumed he already knew that that wasn't the reason why he was here.

Draco had to drain his tea cup before he could muster the courage to open his mouth.

"N-no, sir," he couldn't even look at the man.

"Ah, perhaps then, your reasons for recently making a habit out of defying expectations?"

"I have been defying expectations?" he asked carefully.

"You most certainly have. In the best of ways, I might add." Draco couldn't see it, but he was sure that the old man's eyes were twinkling at him. "Outstanding performances in every subject. Mostly impeccable behavior. Cultivating inter-house friendships. Saving members of the opposing team during Quidditch matches. Helping those in need. And, of course, the undeniable habit of avoiding ever even glancing into my direction."

Draco perked up at the last bit of information. He was stunned at how perceptive the man was. He had underestimated him.

"Have I done something to antagonize you, Mr. Malfoy?"

"No, sir. It's… It's something I have done." Draco stared at the desk in front of him. When would this feeling of shame ever subside?

Draco looked up, right into those twinkling blue eyes and he couldn't help picturing in vivid details how those eyes had been pleading with his godfather. "Severus, please." And then, life leaving those blue eyes. Draco closed his eyes again, fighting tears and memories alike.

"If you are willing," Dumbledore said, "could you please explain to me, why you possess a memory of my death?"

So, he had invaded his mind. Draco hadn't even noticed.

"Because I watched you die, sir," Draco mumbled, looking up again, occluding heavily as to not think of that terrible night anymore. Dumbledore's eyes were not twinkling anymore, and his brows were furrowed. "In the future."

"Curious," Dumbledore muttered. "How did you manage to travel back in time?"

"A very powerful time-turner… It got destroyed yesterday."

"A shame," said Dumbledore.

"Indeed," agreed Draco.

"May I inquire why you have chosen to travel back in time?"

Draco looked out of the window. "My wife," he finally said. "She died. When I held in my hands the possibility to bring her back, to save her – how could I not?"

"And this is why you have visited me today?"

"No," Draco took a moment to order his thoughts, "if you were willing to help on this matter, though, I wouldn't say I couldn't use any help I can get… I am here, because I don't want to be a Death Eater. I want to help your cause. Do the right thing, for once."

"Voldemort will return?"

He tried not to flinch at the use of that name, but couldn't help himself. He nodded. "There will be another war."

"And, I assume, we were not on the same side, originally?"

Draco glared at him. As if he didn't know. "No," Draco huffed, "I wouldn't say so."

"What made you change your mind?"

Draco stared at him with an open mouth. "Have you met that lunatic?"

Draco thought he saw a faint smile tuck at the lips of the old man.

"I have had the pleasure. As such, I understand the sentiment." He smiled kindly at Draco. "How do you wish to proceed from here?"

Draco was stunned. He gave him a choice? "I don't know, sir. I will do whatever it takes. Whatever you see fit. Do with me what you will. If I must become a spy, I will do so."

Dumbledore looked contemplative. "Actually, I was rather thinking you would not make a very good spy at all." Was that meant to be an insult? "In fact, you are, I believe, already full of useful information. The last place I wish to place you is within Voldemort's grasp."

Draco let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He smiled at Dumbledore.

"I also happen to already have one very effective spy," Dumbledore added.

"Severus," Draco said.

Dumbledore looked at him questioningly.

"It's common knowledge in my time. Potter made sure of that after the war."

Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling again. The last statement probably told him all he needed to know about the outcome of the second war.

"What becomes of your dear godfather?" Dumbledore asked.

Draco frowned. "He dies a most gruesome death by the hands of the Dark Lord."

Dumbledore's smile faltered. "I am sorry to hear that. I never wanted this to happen."

Draco nodded. He wasn't planning on letting it happen again.

They both stayed silent for a few minutes.

"The first thing I must ask of you, is that you let me into your mind."

What? Draco felt panic overcome him.

"I want all the information regarding the upcoming war and how it will play out that you posses. But not just that. I ask you to give me everything you know. Show me everything you have. Even the most minute detail, even if you deem it unimportant."

"I-I am not sure if I am able to do this," Draco admitted, his voice hoarse.

"I understand how difficult this must be for you. Going through things you yourself haven't come to terms with, yet. However, I believe it might be a healing experience for you."

Draco wasn't sure whether he could go through all of his memories without occluding. What if he broke down completely?

"Okay," he finally mumbled, feeling sick. He gazed out of the window again, trying to prepare himself for what was to come. He took a few deep breaths, then he stopped occluding and a wave of intense emotions overcame him. He struggled, tears at the corners of his eyes, but finally he looked back into Dumbledore's eyes, offering no resistance as the man entered his mind.

* * *

 

Draco spent the whole afternoon with Dumbledore and only saw Neville again at dinner. He was waiting for him in front of the entrance to the Great Hall.

"How did it go?" he asked as soon as he spotted Draco.

Draco was relieved to notice that Neville did not seem at all mad at him for all the lying and the confessions he had made.

"Pretty good," he smiled. "I'm totally exhausted, though. Had to work through several of my memories with him. Quite the draining experience, but I feel a lot better now." It was not over, though. They had only managed a small fraction of all the memories he possessed. He would have to meet Dumbledore several more times to cover the gist of things and then probably some in more detail.

Neville smiled too. "That's good. Is he going to do something about… You-Know-Who?" he whispered.

Draco just shrugged his shoulders. "He didn't really tell me what he's thinking or planning. He just listened to everything I had to say, and I showed him a few memories-"

"Draco!"

Both boys spun around to see a smiling Daphne approaching them. To Draco's immense surprise, she hugged him. He thought back on how the Golden Trio had become friends after the troll had attacked them in their first year. He overheard one of them saying that one couldn't survive a life and death situation and not become friends. Now he knew what they had meant. His worries, that the whole affair with Sirius would damage his relationships had been unfounded. If they hadn't all been friends before, they definitely were now.

"I was so worried about you, when you didn't show up for lunch," Daphne said. She turned to Neville and smiled, "Hi, Neville." But then she turned back to face Draco and her smile dropped. "Where have you been? You left me completely alone with all the questions people had!"

"I'm sorry. Dumbledore wanted to speak to me." When would the lies ever stop, he asked himself and avoided looking in Neville's direction. "What did you tell them?"

"Not much. But Weasley told the whole school how Sirius is innocent and how we were all attacked by Pettigrew and that we had to fight a serial killer, Dementors and the beasts of the forest, all at once. Not sure if people believe him, though."

Draco snorted. Typical. That boy had always had the tendency to exaggerate his stories in a way that no one would believe him. At least none of the Slytherins and Ravenclaws. His housemates probably enjoyed the story and believed every word their heroes told them.

He scratched his head. What did he want people to know? Or the Slytherins, for that matter.

"Can't you just tell them the truth?" Neville asked.

Daphne and Draco looked at each other and Draco frowned.

"That we helped Potter fight a supporter of You-Know-Who?" Daphne asked tentatively. "Not sure how that'll come across."

Neville looked at her, furrowing his eyebrows. "No. But you could say that you were attacked by a serial killer and then fought the guy who was responsible for  _His_  downfall."

Daphne stared at him, mouth agape. "Wow. We might make a Slytherin of you yet." She looked quite amused. "That might work. What do you think, Draco?"

Draco thought this over. It was an answer that wasn't too revealing. They weren't defying Voldemort but they also weren't supporting him with this answer and everyone could read into it whatever they wanted. "I like it," he finally said.

They made their way into the Great Hall and Draco was greeted enthusiastically at the Slytherin table.

"Draco!" Crabbe yelled, happily. "You are back. And alive!"

Draco smiled. "Was that ever in doubt?"

"Rumors," Pansy shrugged. "Where have you been?"

"Infirmary, headmaster,…" he shrugged his shoulders. He looked at the staff table. Dumbledore was twinkling in his direction and Snape was watching him, too. He didn't look wary or mad, but he was still watching him.

They ate in silence until Pansy couldn't keep it in anymore and practically exploded. "What happened? You have to tell us. I am pretty sure that half of the crap Weasley is rambling about never happened."

Draco looked at her, amused. "How would I know what he's been talking about?"

Pansy glared at him.

"Okay, okay," he looked at Daphne, who nodded her head. "After the prank I pulled on Gryffindor-"

"That was genius," laughed Theodore Nott and the others nodded in agreement.

"Was about time someone got back at those blasted twins. Pranked me five times already, this year," Crabbe grumbled.

"Well, I was with McGonagall and Snape," Draco continued, aware that the whole table was listening to his tale, and probably everyone else who sat close enough to listen, "when Lupin came in and told them that Daphne and Astoria were attacked by Black in the Forbidden Forest." That much was true, at least. "So I went there to help them." Well, he was helping them. "There we figured out, that it wasn't Black who had worked for the Dark Lord, but Pettigrew, who is still alive."

"How did he do that?" Pansy asked.

"Illegal Animagus," answered Daphne. "The rat of the Weasel."

"Wait-" Pansy interrupted again, "he had a grown man in his room all the time? In his bed and in his pants and… and wait- there was a serial killer in our classroom the whole time?"

"Apparently. It's pretty weird if you think of it like that," Draco mused.

"Pretty damn weird if you ask me," said Nott.

"Why didn't he attack sooner," Pansy asked.

"I don't think he really supported any side of the war," Daphne said, "he's a coward who helped whoever he thought would win and he would have changed his allegiance again if things had looked differently. And he hid because neither side wants him. He betrayed Dumbledore, but he is also the reason why  _He_  was defeated…"

Draco nodded his head in agreement.

"How did you get into the middle of this?" asked Millicent, looking at Daphne.

"Uhm-" Daphne hesitated for a second. "Astoria and I were close when Black confronted Pettigrew. Maybe he thought he could use us as hostages or that we would help him or something."

She was a good liar. Draco had to remember that.

"I don't know how the Gryffindorks found out about this, but somehow they always seem to get mixed up in that kind of stuff, so it isn't really that surprising," rambled Draco, "but they, us and the professors ended up in the Forbidden Forest, together with Black and Pettigrew."

"Oh, it was terrible," whined Daphne. "Pettigrew attacked Astoria. She was bleeding everywhere and I thought she would- I really-" she let out a sob and Pansy rubbed her back.

"It's okay," Pansy hushed her. "She is fine now."

They all had become quite fond of Astoria, so they looked rather shocked.

"Snape saved her," Draco continued. "She wouldn't have made it without him," he whispered quietly.

They all went silent for a while.

"What happened then?" asked Goyle.

"The dementors started to attack us, too. It was really a rather hopeless situation. Dumbledore saved the day, getting rid of the Dementors. But Pettigrew got away and the Aurors got Black."

"Are they gonna kiss him?" asked Crabbe excitedly.

"I think," Draco said, "being a Black and all, he might get a trial."

That seemed to satisfy their curiosity, for the time being. Draco got to finish his meal in comfortable silence. When he got to his room later, he fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.

* * *

 

The next day was a Monday and Draco was in no mood to go to classes. Was that why Potter had always waited for the last week of school to go on his stupid adventures? Draco just wanted to roll over and bury his head in his pillow. But his first period that day was Potions and he did not want to anger Snape, so he fought his way out of bed.

Breakfast was a quiet affair. That was, until the owls flew in with the morning post, dropping the Daily Prophet in front of many students, Draco included. He shooed the bird away to finish his porridge. The chatter around him increased, but he didn't mind.

"Draco," Pansy elbowed him.

"Wha-?" he asked, his mouth full of porridge.

Pansy motioned her fork towards the paper in front of him. Draco could only see part of the headline:

**SIRIUS BLACK C-**

To read the rest, he had to unfold the paper. Draco almost choked on his porridge and hastily opened the newspaper.

 **SIRIUS BLACK CAUGHT, CLAIMS INNOCENCE**  (24 January 1994)

BY E. LIMUS

_Sirius Black, possibly the most infamous prisoner ever to be held in Azkaban fortress, and who escaped 6 months ago, eluding capture although even Muggles were on the lookout, was caught Saturday night at Hogwarts by two Professors. Surprisingly, Black claims to be innocent. A claim, which is supported by several, highly influential, wizards, such as Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and Harry Potter, the boy who lived._

_The Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, who has been criticized for how he has handled the situation so far, said that Black, although he believes him to be dangerous, powerful and vindictive, deserves a proper trial. The trial is set for August. In the meantime, Black will be held in a high security holding cell at the ministry._

Draco only skimmed the rest of the article. It summarized what supposedly happened roughly 13 years ago and gave a distorted version of the events at Hogwarts, not mentioning Pettigrew.

All things considered, he was quite happy with the article. It didn't sound like Sirius was innocent and it wasn't completely accurate, but it meant that his parents had succeeded and Sirius would get a trial. And if he, his parents, Dumbledore, Lupin and Potter would testify, there was surely no way they would find him guilty. He succeeded in convincing Snape, who hated Black – how much harder could a bunch of people in the Wizengamot be?

Draco looked over at the Gryffindor table and saw that most people had their heads buried in the paper, too. Neville looked over and he flashed him a smile.

He then looked at the head table. Dumbledore seemed rather happy with himself. Snape looked grim.

Potions was okay. Draco had worked with Crabbe, which had been a stupid idea to begin with, because he almost blew the whole class into tiny bits and pieces. But other than that, it was rather normal.

Draco decided to be pro-active concerning the relationship he had with his godfather and stayed in the classroom after the lesson was over.

"Professor?"

Snape looked at him but Draco couldn't read his expression. "Yes?"

"I just wanted to apologize."

"Whatever for?" Snape asked evenly.

Draco walked closer to the desk Snape was sitting at. "Lying."

Snape nodded his head. "You did what you thought was the right thing to do. However, I do hope that you know that you could have talked to me about this."

"I know," Draco said, dropping his head. "I thought I could deal with this on my own. But I couldn't. And Black said you hated him, so I wasn't sure if you would believe him. I should have told you. I should have asked you for help. I am sorry."

Snape scrutinized him. "He isn't wrong. I do indeed hate him. But this wouldn't have stopped me from helping you."

"Why do you hate him so much?" Draco asked.

Snape's look darkened.

"I am sorry, sir," Draco immediately said. "I shouldn't have asked. It is none of my business."

Snape let his eyes wander through the classroom, not directly looking at Draco. "I assume you have heard what Potter said... I nearly died during my time at school. It was due to a prank," he snorted at the last word, "Black played on me."

"What did he do?" Draco asked, anger creeping into his voice.

"He goaded me into the Shrieking Shack during a full moon," Snape replied coolly.

"Lupin," Draco gasped, realization dawning on him.

"That would be correct," Snape nodded his head.

"But- that's- Why didn't he get expelled?" Draco asked, feeling rightful indignation on his godfather's behalf.

Snape shrugged his shoulders. "It wasn't the only thing he did, but definitely the most relevant for my dislike towards him."

"But that was attempted murder!" Draco felt anger surge through him as his body tensed. "Once I have saved Sirius' ass from the Dementors, I'll give it a solid kick," Draco growled. For a few seconds, Draco was really mad on his godfather's behalf, but his anger was also mingled with confusion. Sirius could be an idiot, but a murderer?  _But hadn't he wanted to kill Pettigrew_ , his mind supplied. But then Draco thought about Sirius' impulsive behavior, the time he just appeared in his room over Christmas... his shoulders slumped, as he realized that that was just who Sirius was.

"Sir, I don't think he meant to kill you," Draco carefully began, knowing that defending Sirius might upset his godfather. "He is... just an idiot, he can't help it. A huge, bullheaded, intolerant idiot, but still."

Snape raised his eyebrows in surprise. "I thought, after trying to help him for over a semester, you would be fonder of him."

"Oh, I do like him,"  _most of the time_ , Draco mentally added, "but he is an idiot. He never thinks anything through. He only thinks short-term, never long-term. And he is very impulsive. Typical Gryffindor, really. Got me in trouble a lot although I'm sure he didn't mean to. It is not that he did not care that I could get into trouble - or even get killed... He just... didn't think about it. It never even crossed his mind that his actions might have consequences. So, although his behavior towards you is inexcusable, and I will give him a piece of my mind once all of this is over, I don't think he actually meant for anything truly bad to happen to you. He probably didn't fully grasp the consequences his actions might have."

Snape considered this for a while.

"You know," Draco continued, "it might seem like a clever assassination attempt to a Slytherin, but a Gryffindor is just not capable to come up with such a cunning plan."

Draco thought he couldn't believe his eyes, when something close to a smile tucked at his godfather's lips. "Perhaps," he said, amused. "What kind of trouble did he get you in?"

"Tons," Draco frowned. "I didn't invite him to stay at my place over Christmas, he was just suddenly there! He never thought about how much trouble I would be in if someone found him. Or that my parents would have killed him - and then me - without a second thought had they found him in my room. And the Polyjuice thing – obviously not my idea, either. I very nearly died of a heart attack when you visited us... And when he just broke into Gryffindor tower... without any kind of plan and a freakin'  _knife_ , I thought I would kill him myself."

Snape chuckled. "I can see what you mean."

"Honestly, I think the reason he didn't get sorted into Slytherin wasn't because he wanted to defy his family or any such thing, but because he possesses none of the qualities we value... But he is loyal. And brave. And smart – I mean, he broke out of Azkaban and he became an Animagus, after all. These are not easy things to do. And he didn't do them for selfish reasons either. And he defied his family even though that meant they would throw him out and disown him. He can be a bully and an idiot... and he might need to see a mind healer... but he does have his good qualities as well-"

Snape looked pensive. He then pulled out a piece of parchment and scribbled something on it.

"You should go to your next class, Draco," he handed him the piece of parchment. "Here is a note for Lupin."

"Thanks," Draco smiled, but didn't leave immediately. "I didn't just come here to apologize. I also wanted to thank you. Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for respecting my privacy even though you had every reason to distrust me. Thank you for speaking on Sirius' behalf even though you don't like him. And thank you for saving Astoria. She- she would have died if you hadn't been there."

Snape looked at Draco for a long time, his expression unreadable. "Anytime Draco."


	13. Chapter 13

Draco was quite content after the talk he'd had with Snape. Maybe everything really would work out for the best. Snape had accepted his apology and Draco was hoping that he might even warm up to Sirius, because if he could manage it, he would really like to have both men in his life, even though he was still mad at Black.

That Sirius had tried to use one of his best friends to murder Snape was both baffling and at the same time also something that seemed typical for Sirius. His plans were often shortsighted and disregarded any possible consequences. He had probably only thought about how scared Snape would be, ignoring all the possible ways his plan could go wrong. Snape could have been bitten or killed. If the plan had worked and Snape had really only gotten frightened, Sirius had no way of knowing that Snape would not tell the whole school about what he had seen. And all three options would have affected Lupin as well. The best case scenario would have seen him expelled, the worst executed. And as much as Sirius might detest Snape, Draco doubted he would knowingly get one of his friends in such trouble just to scare Snape. 

He'd really have to have a word with Sirius about all of this. Or several. Maybe he'd even give Dumbledore a piece of his mind. 

Draco shook his head – there was no use in dwelling on it now. Sirius wasn't here and he probably wouldn't see him before the summer holidays.

He was a bit late for Defense, but with the slip Snape gave him, Lupin didn't mind. He, although his transformation had been horrible, looked happier than usually as well and flashed Draco a warm smile when he entered the room.

After lunch, Draco visited Astoria in the Infirmary.

She was sitting on one of the beds, eating lunch, when he walked in.

"Hi," he greeted.

Astoria's eyes shot up to see who had come in and lightened up when she saw it was Draco.

"Draco," she greeted happily, putting her food on a little table next to her bed.

"How are you?"

"Pretty good, actually. I don't know why they're still keeping me here."

Draco gave her a once-over. True to her word, Astoria did look a lot better than she had the last time Draco had seen her.

"I'm sorry I dragged you into all of-" he said.

"Oh no, stop it right there," she interrupted. "Daphne and I chose to help you, knowing how dangerous it would be. You are not responsible for our decisions and you are not responsible for anything that happened that night."

Draco smiled at her. He did not entirely agree with her, but without mentioning that he was an adult and should have acted more responsibly, he had little he could argue with.

"Besides," she continued, "I think the other Ravenclaws like me better now. Some of them even came to visit me."

"No better way to convince someone you aren't evil than chasing after a lunatic serial killer," Draco chuckled.

"That's how Potter does it. Seems to work for him," she said and they both laughed.

"Who else visited you?" Draco asked, once he had calmed down.

"Luna was here and most of the Slytherins we always study with. And Neville. That's it, I think. Professor Snape checked in on me. Making sure my wounds are healing properly. And the headmaster came by, too." She sounded rather excited.

Draco was happy Astoria was making friends, he knew she had struggled finding friends during her first years at Hogwarts. Sometimes being related to a Slytherin was enough reason for people to avoid someone. "That's nice. You already have more friends than I ever did in my first year."

"Hmm I think I have Daphne and you to thank for that."

Draco's face turned more serious. "If you ever want to talk about any of this, don't hesitate to come to us. We're here for you."

Astoria considered this for a while. "Thanks, Draco."

"I brought a deck of cards. Wanna play Exploding Snap?" Draco asked, to lighten the mood again.

Astoria nodded excitedly.

They played until Draco had to leave for Care of Magical Creatures.

* * *

Astoria was allowed to leave the Infirmary the next day and Daphne and Pansy decided that their group should spend the night in the library, so Astoria could join them again.

"Welcome back," greeted Theodore Nott enthusiastically.

"It's good to see you again," agreed Tracey, smiling warmly at the young girl.

"It's good to be back," she smiled.

"How are you feeling?" asked Goyle.

"Really good, actually. There is something about nearly dying that makes you appreciate being alive."

"True that," chuckled Draco.

They were all sitting in the library, but not one of them wanted to study. The talked and played games and ate sweets instead.

After the third time Madame Pince shushed them, Draco cast a quick and silent Muffliato, which thankfully, no one really noticed.

"They really need a common room for everyone in this castle," complained Daphne.

The others nodded in agreement. The library was the only place outside of classrooms and the Great Hall that students from different houses could use to meet. At least, the Dementors were gone, so the weather would probably soon improve and they could all go outside for a change.

But staying close to Pince was rather annoying. That woman was omnipresent and strict. Draco still remembered something she had said to him in his first year:

_"If you rip, tear, shred, bend, fold, deface, disfigure, smear, smudge, throw, drop, or in any other manner damage, mistreat, or show lack of respect towards this book, the consequences will be as awful as it is within my power to make them."_

He, to this day, believed that an earmark could mean expulsion.

"Since we were just talking about, you know, other houses and spending time together and so on," Daphne started carefully, "should we ask  _him_ ," she motioned her head in the general direction of Neville Longbottom, who was sitting alone at one of the tables, "if he wants to sit with us?"

Draco had had noticed him, too, but hadn't wanted to draw any more attention to himself by suggesting it first. He was quite glad that Daphne did.

"But he is a," Pansy wrinkled her nose, " _Gryffindor_."

"An obvious miss sorting," said Millicent.

"He is a pureblood, I guess," said Nott carefully, shrugging his shoulders. "And he doesn't seem all that close to Potter, so he might be okay."

"A Gryffindor and a blood traitor, that's what he is," huffed Crabbe.

"He helped us the other night," said Astoria. "I'd like him to sit with us."

She had become more self-confident since the start of the semester, Draco mused. He nodded his head in agreement. "I don't mind. He kept Pettigrew from smashing my skull in."

Crabbe and Goyle chuckled at that and Draco rolled his eyes.

"Fine," Pansy finally said. "If you guys think it's a good idea, I am willing to give it a try."

She stalked over to Longbottom and Draco cancelled his Muffliato charm.

"Longbottom," Pansy greeted him.

Neville looked up from the big herbology book in front of him.

"Huh?"

"Do you want to sit with us?" she asked directly.

"W-what?"

Pansy was losing her patience so Draco just indicated his head that he should come over, which he did.

"Thanks," Neville muttered into the round.

Pansy, for the most part, ignored him. But it was obvious that Daphne and Astoria wanted him there.

And just like that, Neville became part of their odd group. It took half of the semester for all of them to get used to him, but eventually they did.

* * *

 

The rest of the semester passed quickly and thankfully, uneventfully. Their group, now also including Neville, met quite often, but Draco also met with Neville on his own, to work towards finding a cure for Neville's parents and for Astoria. It was nice to finally have someone he could really talk to. They talked about his wife, his son and the time travel. Draco could finely bounce ideas off someone regarding the blood curse of his wife. On a bad day, when he really missed his son or wife, Neville would listen to him and cheer him up. It made his everyday life a lot easier to bear. But he also knew that someone knowing his secret made it more likely that others found out about it, and it also meant danger for not only him but also for Neville. If anyone ever found out Neville knew such details about the future, he would become a target.

During the last week of the semester, Dumbledore called him into his office.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Malfoy. Please, have a seat," was the first thing Dumbledore said when Draco entered his office. "Would you like some tea?"

"Ehm- yes, sir," he said while sitting down in front of the headmaster.

Dumbledore had already had the teapot in front of him when Draco had entered the room. He poured tea into two cups, not saying anything.

"Is this about Sirius?" Draco finally asked, having no idea why he was summoned.

"No," Dumbledore said, "but perhaps you would like to hear that things are going well, we are using all the resources at our disposal – as is your mother as I have been told - and I expect him to be freed of all charges at the trial in August."

That was good to hear.

"What then," asked Draco, "do you want to talk to me about?"

"I would like you to tell me how Harry was able to kill Lord Voldemort."

Draco flinched at the use of the name.

"Haven't I already told you?" he asked, but then added a "Sir," because he did not want to sound disrespectful.

"In our first meeting we have focused on the most important memories and the bigger picture. The gist of things, if you will. Now I would like to know more about the details."

Letting out a slow breath, Draco began to retell what happened during the battle. "Potter killed him by deflecting the Dark Lord's Avada Kedavra, so that it rebounded and destroyed him."

"Please try not to occlude," said the headmaster. Draco hadn't even noticed that he had. He just didn't want to relive that day if he could help it. "We need every detail you can remember. It will be easier for you to remember if you do not occlude."

He gulped and lowered his mental shields, breathing slowly and deeply.

Memories of a bloody, disheveled boy flashed before his eyes and how the black-robed enemy finally fell. Then another memory flashed before his eyes.

"He used my wand," Draco said, remembering the shock of seeing it in Potter's hands. "And he told the Dark Lord that he was the master of the Elder Wand."

"Really?" Dumbledore did not seem very surprised. "The Elder Wand is just a myth."

"Well, neither Potter nor the Dark Lord thought so. And neither do you," his eyes darted towards the wand of Dumbledore, which was lying on the table. "That's it, right there."

"Is that so?" asked Dumbledore, glancing down at his own wand.

"Stop that," huffed Draco.

"My apologies, Mr. Malfoy. I wasn't aware anyone knew about the dark history of my wand."

"Well, no one does know… yet. The only reason I do is because I already knew half the story when Potter told it."

"Because you were given the task of killing me?"

Draco flinched. Would he ever get over this? He slowly nodded his head, not looking the headmaster in the eyes. "I successfully disarmed you that night," said Draco.

"That made you the master of the Elder Wand?" Dumbledore asked, not fazed by the topic of their discussion.

"That's what Potter said," said Draco. "But the Dark Lord thought that the person who killed you was the master of the Elder Wand."

"So he killed Professor Snape?" asked Dumbledore evenly.

Draco inhaled sharply. How could he just say things like that? Did he care at all?

"Yes," croaked Draco. "He should have killed me. I was the master of the Elder Wand. At least, until Potter disarmed me."

"Ah, so Lord Voldemort tried to kill Harry with a wand which was not loyal to him but his supposed victim?" asked Dumbledore, examining his own wand. "This is very useful information. Is there anything else you can tell me about that night?"

Draco considered this. There was something else. "Potter had been searching for something. In the Room of Hidden Things. A tiara."

"A tiara?" asked Dumbledore, leaning forward, giving Draco his full attention.

The memory flashed before his eyes, filling him with the same terror he had felt when it had happened. The fire, Crabbe… Draco and Goyle had been slumped on the floor in the corridor in front of the burning Room of Hidden Things. Mourning their fallen friend. They both hadn't had any wands and had just been saved from the fire by the golden trio. Even though they had tried to kill them, they still risked their lives to save Draco and Goyle. Something Draco would eternally be grateful for.

_"_ _Harry, what's that on your arm?"_

_"_ _What? Oh yeah –"_

_It had been a tiara of sorts. It had been blackened with soot. A bloodlike substance, dark and tarry, leaked out of it. It vibrated violently and then broke apart, letting out a scream of pain._

_"_ _It must have been the Fiendfyre!" whimpered Hermione._

_"_ _Sorry?"_

"A horcrux. They were looking for a Horcrux," Draco suddenly said.

He could see Dumbledore's face fall.

"What do you know about Horcruxes?" he asked sternly.

Draco didn't know why, but Dumbledore's voice made him uncomfortable. "Nothing. No idea what they are. But I remember Granger saying  _"Fiendfyre – cursed fire – it's one of the substances that can destroy Horcruxes…"_ or something like that."

"Do you know of any other objects that Harry might have been searching for?" he asked urgently.

"No," Draco said, confused. What were Horcruxes? "Oh, wait. Granger said something about a snake right after she said that about the Horcruxes… I guess she meant the pet snake of the Dark Lord. Nagini," Draco shuddered. What a vile creature that was. He had found it cool, but that had changed the first time he saw that beast kill someone. "And they broke into Gringotts a few days before the final battle. I think they stole something from my aunt's vault," he thought some more, "that's all I know."

Dumbledore stayed silent for a while, going through all of this information. There was a gleam in his eyes that unsettled Draco.

"Thank you, Mr. Malfoy. That was some very useful information." Dumbledore studied the Elder Wand, clearly lost in thought. When his gaze finally left the wand and landed back on Draco, his whole expression had changed. Gone were the stern look and unsettling gleam, as if they had never discussed anything more serious than the weather. "Do you have any problems adapting?" Dumbledore finally asked, changing the topic completely.

"Not really. Classes are really simple, but I can't deny that I have forgotten a thing or two, so the revision doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would."

"I am glad to hear that," said Dumbledore. "If you need anything, let me know. You may return to your dormitory now."

Draco stood up to leave, but then stopped in his tracks. "Don't you want to tell me what these… Horcruxes… are?"

"In due time. You do not have to worry yourself with things like these right now."

Draco shook his head. "I am not really a child, you know? You can tell me."

"I would like to do some investigating before I explain. Let's talk again at the beginning of next semester."

Draco sighed. "Alright. But you are planning to do something about it, right?"

There was this annoying twinkle again. "Yes. But don't worry about that now."

Draco felt a bit irritated. He should be happy he didn't have to bring down the Dark Lord on his own, but the old man didn't seem to understand that if he wanted to change things for the better, they needed to work together.

"Well, at least I won't have to worry about the things which originally happened next year, since Professor Lupin hasn't resigned."

Dumbledore looked at Draco. "Actually, and I am sorry to say that, he has handed in his resignation this morning."

"What?" Draco nearly yelled. "Why?"

"That, I am afraid, you must ask him yourself. He is, I believe, in his office, packing."

Draco didn't even hear his last words as he had already stormed out of the office.

* * *

 

Draco hurried out of Dumbledore's office. It couldn't be true. Lupin couldn't do this. He couldn't just resign.

Lupin's office door was open. He had already packed most of his things. The grindylow's empty tank stood next to his battered old suitcase, which was open and nearly full. Lupin was bending over something on his desk and looked up only when Draco stormed in.

"I saw you coming," said Lupin, smiling. He pointed to the parchment he had been poring over. It was the map Snape had had confiscated from Potter. He must have given it to Lupin after their confrontation, probably believing it to be dark magic. Or maybe he just knew that Lupin had been one of the Marauders.

"You can't do this-" Draco started, but was startled by a knock on the door. Harry Potter walked into the room.

Draco and Harry looked at each other. Potter looked quite surprised, but then he turned towards Lupin and said, "I just saw Hagrid and he said you resigned. It's not true, is it?"

"I am afraid it is," said Lupin. He started opening his desk drawers and taking out the contents.

"No," Draco yelled. If Lupin left, then he hadn't changed much at all. Moody would again turn him into a ferret, Umbridge would terrorize the school with her absurd decrees, the Carrows would force him to torture his peers and Snape would die. "You can't do that." 

"I am sorry, Draco. But my decision is final."

"Why?" asked Harry. "The Ministry of Magic don't think you were helping Sirius, do they?"

Draco pointed his wand at the door and it closed immediately. Lupin nodded appreciatively in his direction.

"No. They believe that Severus and I saved you and captured Sirius."

"Is it because of what happened?" Draco asked. "We aren't blaming you for anything that happened."

Lupin looked wistful. "I could have bitten any of you… That must never happen again. But it is also not the reason I am leaving. Sirius will have his trial at the end of August. If he loses, I need to be there to lodge an appeal. And if he wins, I will need to help him start a new life."

"Can't you do that  _and_  teach at Hogwarts?" Potter asked.

Lupin shook his head.

"Did Dumbledore tell you to do this?" asked Draco.

"No," Lupin smiled. "This is my own decision and one I fully stand behind."

"You're the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had!" said Harry and Draco found himself nodding in agreement. As much as he loved his godfather, the man was clearly not meant to be a teacher. "Don't go!"

"I'm truly sorry, boys. But I have always expected that my time here would come to an end sooner or later."

"Why?" asked Draco.

"Have you ever had a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for longer than a year?" he asked.

They both shook their heads.

"Well, neither had I during my time at Hogwarts. It is quite curious. I am just glad I did not end up like some of my predecessors have."

Draco had heard rumors that the Dark Lord had cursed the position, but he never gave it much merit.

Lupin continued packing his things. "I am quite proud of you two and your friends. You worked together to save an innocent man. You uncovered the truth. You overlooked the prejudices of the different houses to do what is right. You have learned so much…" Lupin looked proudly at Harry, "you learnt how to conjure a Patronus."

"What?" asked Draco. "I want to see."

Harry looked unsure but Lupin nodded reassuringly.

"Expecto Patronum!" A brilliant white stag jumped from the tip of Potter's wand, galloping around the three.

Draco looked at it, mesmerized. "Wow," he whispered, trying to touch the animal but as soon as his fingers met the silvery light, it disappeared. "That was really awesome."

"Your father's was a stag, too," Lupin mused. "I would say, by learning to conjure a Patronus, you found some of your father inside of yourself."

Harry smiled proudly, but then his face faltered. "It didn't make any difference, though. Pettigrew got away."

Lupin looked sullen. "That's my fault, I am afraid."

"It's just as much your fault as it is mine," Draco muttered. "I stopped you from killing him. If  _He_  comes back, it will be my fault-"

"Stop," interrupted Lupin. "You did a very noble thing. He owes you his life. If You-Know-Who returns, and it would be no fault of either of us, he would have a servant indebted to you. There will be a day you'll be very glad you saved his life."

Draco gave this some thought. If Potter was right and this would have happened anyways, then having the treacherous little rat indebted to him was probably the best possible outcome. And he was not only owing his life to Draco, but also to Astoria, Daphne and Neville. Neville more so than the others, as he had saved him again when he had stopped Draco from attacking him.

"Here," Lupin handed Harry the Marauder's Map. "I am no longer your teacher, so I don't feel guilty about giving this back to you. It's of no use to me but I daresay you will find uses for it."

Harry took the map and grinned.

"Your father would be proud of you," he said.

There was a knock on the door and Harry hastily stuffed the Marauder's Map into his pocket.

It was Professor Dumbledore. He didn't look surprised to see either of the two boys standing there.

"Your carriage is at the gates, Remus," he said.

"Thank you, Headmaster."

Lupin picked up his old suitcase and the empty grindylow tank.

"Well – good-bye, boys," he said, smiling. "It has been a real pleasure teaching you. I am sure we'll meet again soon. Headmaster, there is no need to see me to the gates, I can manage…"

Draco had the impression that Lupin wanted to leave as quickly as possible.

"Good-bye then, Remus," said Dumbledore soberly. They shook hands and with a smile and a nod into their direction, Remus Lupin was gone.

Draco sighed.

"Why so sullen?" Dumbledore asked them.

"Lupin's gone," Harry complained. "And who knows who'll be our Defense teacher next year. Probably a vampire or something."

Draco chuckled. "Would probably still be better than Quirrel and Lockhart combined."

That made Potter laugh.

"Now boys, I am sure you will be most pleased with my choice for a Defense Professor," said Dumbledore.

"Who will it be?" asked Draco, hoping it wasn't Moody or Umbridge. But Dumbledore wouldn't say, only twinkled at them.

Harry and Draco left the office soon after.

"So, how long have you known about Sirius?" Harry asked him.

"Since a bit before Christmas," Draco admitted. "Neville and I were- ehm- serving detention in the Forbidden Forest, when we found him by accident. We tried to catch the rat, but it didn't really work out that well," he laughed. "He sent you the Firebolt for Christmas, by the way."

"Oh, that was him? Got to tell Hermione that she was right. She turned it in to McGonagall and I didn't get it back for quite some time."

Draco chuckled, "Sounds like her."

Harry stopped and looked at Draco warily. He probably still didn't know what to make of him.

"Bye, Draco," he finally said.

"Bye – Harry."


	14. Chapter 14

When Draco arrived in the Great Hall on his last day at Hogwarts, the hall was already packed with hundreds of excited students. The hall was decked out in the Slytherin colors of green and silver to celebrate Slytherin's winning of the house cup. This was largely thanks to their spectacular performance in the Quidditch Cup. A huge banner showing the Slytherin serpent covered the wall behind the High Table.

 _Take that, Gryffindor,_  Draco thought happily, walking towards the Slytherin table. Unsurprisingly, the Slytherin table was the noisiest in the whole hall. Everyone was celebrating. Students were laughing and having a good time. Some chanted "Slytherin for the win." 

In all that chaos, Draco still managed to relax as he ate, drank, talked, and laughed with the rest. For the first time in what seemed like the whole year, Draco felt like he could relax. For a few wonderful weeks, the weight of the world would not lie on his shoulders. He would not have to protect people. He would not have to save anyone. He would not have to study. He would not have to second guess each of his decisions and wonder how they would change what was to come. He could just enjoy the summer.

"I am so excited," Theodore Nott told Draco eagerly, pulling him out of his thoughts and back into the real world. "This is going to be the best summer ever!"

Draco looked at him, uncomprehending.

"Hello? It's the Quidditch World Cup this summer!" Theo continued.

"Oh," Draco replied, finally catching on, "yeah."

"Oh? Yeah? You've been studying too much, mate. Have lost contact to the real world."

That was not untrue, Draco had to admit.

"Will you be there?" Theo asked.

"Definitely," Draco said, trying to sound as enthusiastic as he possibly could, which was not all together difficult once his brain registered the meaning of the words  _quidditch_  and  _world cup_. 

"I hope England will make it into the finals," he said.

"Wanna bet?" Draco asked, amused.

"You think they won't?"

"I think no team from Great Britain will make it into the finale," Draco said. It wasn't really fair, as he already knew who'd win, but who cared.

"No way! The bet is on," he extended his hand, and Draco shook it, grinning.

Theodore Nott was a lot more talkative than Draco remembered. But maybe that was more due to Draco being a different person than anything he had changed during his time in the past. 

* * *

The Hogwarts Express left Hogsmeade the next morning. He was in a compartment with Nott, Pansy, Daphne, Crabbe and Goyle.

Draco watched the Scottish countryside roll by while his friends discussed the Quidditch World Cup. Once or twice he voiced his own thoughts, but speculating the outcome wasn't really all that exciting if one already knew who would win.

"Not a bad year, huh, Draco?" Daphne asked him after an hour on the train.

Draco chuckled. "If you call being attacked by Dementors on the train, falling off a broom, and almost being killed by a lunatic " _not bad_ ", then yeah - it was a good year."

"If you'd told me this time last year that I'd be on speaking terms with a Ravenclaw and a Gryffindor, I'd probably have shoved you into the lake," admitted Pansy.

The others laughed.

"I wonder what your father will have to say about you helping Black," Nott mused."I was surprised he convinced Fudge to give him a chance."

"Not only you," Draco admitted. If there was anyone who could give Snape a run for his money when it came to hating Sirius, it was probably Draco's father. "But I have my mother on my side," Draco smiled, but for the rest of the ride to London, he worried about it. He hoped his parents would manage to somehow  _be_  the united front they showed to the outside world, instead of just pretending everything was alright. 

* * *

Draco stepped off the Hogwarts Express at King's Cross, looking around for his family. He saw Blaise's mother waiting to pick her son up, and Draco helped him pick up his luggage from the cart. He waved good-bye to his Slytherin friends and talked to the parents of the Greengrass sisters.

"Hello, Mrs. Greengrass," Draco said.

"Hello, Draco," Mrs. Greengrass said. "I heard good things about you from my daughters." Astoria and Daphne looked sheepish.

"Bye, Draco," said Daphne.

"Have a nice summer," added Astoria, before heading off with her parents.

Draco waved Neville good-bye and was surprised that the golden trio waved into his direction, earning them a suspicious glance from Arthur Weasley.

He finally found his father, who was lost in a conversation with someone. But when he saw his son, he shook hands with that person and turned towards his son.

"Draco," he greeted him warmly.

"Father," Draco smiled.

They apparated to their home in Wiltshire.

Draco found his mother buried in books on legal matters. She barely noticed that Draco had arrived back home.

"Don't take it personally," his father said. "She's been like that since… you know," he waved his hand and Draco nodded.

Draco went to his room but found it kind of lonely without Sirius there. So, he moved to the library, determined to find out what these  _Horcruxes_  were. The library of Malfoy manor was huge and included an extensive collection of books on the Dark Arts. If you could not find anything about a dark object in here, it probably did not exist. 

So he was rather surprised when after looking through several books he had not found a single mention of the subject. Only when he skimmed through  _Magick Moste Evile_  did he finally find something, but only one sentence:

_Of the Horcrux, wickedest of magical inventions, we shall not speak nor give direction._

"Great," Draco muttered. That wasn't helping much. At least now he knew that he needed to look into the Darkest book in the collection,  _Secrets of the Darkest Art_  – well, at least the Darkest in their library. Draco suspected that his father had even darker books hidden somewhere where not even his family could find them.

Draco's stomach churned when he opened the book. If Horcruxes where in that specific book then he probably really didn't want to know what they were. But he had no choice - if he wanted to stop Voldemort he had to find out what they were.

A knock on the door startled him and he threw the book into a corner and hastily grabbed one from one of the other shelves, sitting down in an armchair, book in his lap.

"Draco?" his father asked.

"Yes?"

Lucius Malfoy entered the room. "Here you are. I have been looking for you."

Draco nodded his head. "I have been here for a while. Been reading a bit."

"I just wanted to tell you that we have to postpone our vacation this year," he said.

"We are not going to Venice?" Draco huffed. They always went to Italy during the summer. It was family tradition.

"I am afraid not. At least not now. Your mother seems to be otherwise preoccupied."

Lucius Malfoy did not look happy, but Draco knew that he would do everything to make his mother happy.

"Will you join us for dinner?" his father then asked.

"Ehm- can I eat here? I'd like to finish my book," Draco improvised. He couldn't really say that he didn't like to eat at the dining table because he always had to think of the people that had been tortured and murdered there and that he'd rather read books on the Dark Arts.

"Is your book that captivating?" Lucius asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh yes. Page-turner," Draco said.

Lucius reached for the book and turned it around. He looked at Draco, amused. " _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_? Aren't you a bit old for this?"

"Ehm- I- ehm-" Draco stammered.

"I'll leave you to it, then," his father said, grinning, and stood up. "I'll tell one of the house elves to bring you dinner."

"Thanks," Draco muttered, before his father left the room.

Draco looked disdainfully at the children's book and went to pick up  _Secrets of the Darkest Art_  again.

He began reading and began to feel sick when he first read the word "immortality". Voldemort – immortal? Not two words that belonged together. As he read on, his mood grew steadily worse. The process of creating a Horcrux made Draco's skin crawl. He had to stop reading to recollect himself several times. When he had finished reading it, he threw the book into the fireplace.

Sitting in a huge armchair, he pulled his knees up and slung his arms around them, watching the blasted thing burn.

Draco looked at the children's book, still lying on a little table next to him, again. A tale from Beedle the Bard that his mother had always told him when he was a toddler came to his mind.  _The Warlock's Hairy Heart_. It was about a warlock who thought emotions were a weakness and subsequently cut his own heart out. That's what Voldemort had done – gotten rid of what made him human. That man had literally cut out parts of his soul.

So, to kill Voldemort, they had to find and destroy his Horcrux… or Horcruxes. Draco shuddered. One of those things was already vile enough. But more than one? The book did not mention creating more than one, but it also did not say that one could not create more. 

It couldn't be too many, though, as Potter had succeeded in destroying them all in about one year. He must have as he was able to defeat Voldemort for good.

There was the tiara, Draco thought. And the snake, that's what they had been talking about in front of the Room of Hidden Things. But that Horcrux probably didn't exist. Yet. Hopefully, it never would.

Then something in his aunt's vault. Draco couldn't imagine Potter risking a stunt like breaking into Gringotts unless there was at least one Horcrux inside.

Draco thought about it some more. Maybe the book his father had given to one of the Weasleys? The Dark Lord had most certainly been fuming when he found out what had happened to it. He didn't know what had happened with it but suspected that what had transpired at the end of his second year had something to do with it.

Once in bed, Draco couldn't fall asleep for a long time. He felt frustrated. He needed to talk to Dumbledore, but probably wouldn't be able to before the start of the next school year. I was starting to suspect that the following year would not be any less exciting and dangerous than the one he had just finished.

* * *

 

The next day, Draco got up early, his body still adhering to his school schedule. He trudged into the dining room, where his mother and father were eating breakfast.

"Good morning, Draco," his mother said. She was eating a scone and had one of her books lying next to her plate.

His father had his face buried in the Daily Prophet, absentmindedly sipping his tea.

"Morning." Draco plunged down in the chair next to his mother and grabbed a scone and put some strawberry jam and clotted cream on it.

"Any progress?" Draco asked his mother, pointing at the book next to her.

His mother nodded her head. "Quite. I am sure Sirius will win his trial," she said self confidently. "Finding this Pettigrew would have helped, of course, but he has plenty of influential witnesses testifying on his account."

"Dumbledore and Potter?" Draco asked, biting into his scone.

His mother wrinkled her nose but nodded. "Yes. But also the Greengrass sisters and Severus."

Draco nodded, although he was rather surprised that Snape was willing to testify in favor of Sirius' innocence. "And me?" he added carefully.

"No!" his father forcefully put his cup down on the table and Draco was surprised it didn't break. He looked up from his paper and glared at Narcissa.

"Lucius-" Narcissa started but was interrupted by her husband.

"No, we have talked about this. Draco will not testify."

"What?" Draco huffed. "Don't I get a say in this?" Being a grown up, Draco hated being treated like a child.

"No," his father said, and it sounded final.

"But what if he is found guilty because I don't-" Draco began but his father wasn't in the mood for an argument.

"He won't. As your mother said, he will most likely be freed of all charges and I will not have our family be any more associated with these blood traitors than we already are," he glowered at Draco and Narcissa and it was the first time he openly showed that he didn't like what they had been doing. "There will be a day when you will thank me for this."

Draco doubted it, but didn't dare contradict his father.

"How about we visit Diagon Alley this afternoon?" Narcissa asked, trying to defuse the tension and change the subject.

Lucius nodded, then brought his attention back to his paper.

Draco soon figured out that his parents had just come to the silent agreement that they wouldn't talk about the issue again. Ever. It was how most pureblooded families operated. They just ignored the elephant in the room instead of doing anything about it. Well, unless the problem grew too big, in which case family tapestries took the brunt of it and it wasn't just the problem that was ignored any longer, but the whole person. If that was how his parents wanted to play it, that was fine by Draco. It saved him from having to either lie to his parents or say things he knew his parents wouldn't like to hear.

They really went to Diagon Alley that afternoon and Draco had a good time shopping and eating ice cream with his parents. His mother bought him a lot of new clothes and his father new Quidditch equipment. He told his parents about his school year, leaving out a few more or less important details, like that he had kept Sirius in his room during the holidays, and he told them about his friends, leaving out Neville's name of course. His parents also told him about their lives. But they never talked about Sirius again.

Other than a few trips with his parents, Draco spent a lot of time reading. He even found a few books that might help Neville and he decided to bring them to Hogwarts with him.

He was sitting in the huge armchair a few weeks into the summer holidays, reading, when the fireplace suddenly became alive.

"Draco?" the fireplace asked. The voice was a bit hesitant.

"Blaise?" Draco queried. "Is that you in there?"

The grinning face of Blaise Zabini appeared in the flames.

"Got it in one, my fellow conspirator," he said. "Mind if I come through?"

Draco gave his assent, and suddenly the library had another occupant.

"Hello, Blaise," Draco greeted.

"And good afternoon to you as well," he finally said.

"Keeping busy this summer?" Draco asked.

"Actually," the tall boy started, "a few of the Slytherins, Astoria and Longbottom are currently at my place."

"Your place?" Draco asked. Blaise wasn't usually the most sociable person.

"Well, we didn't think your parents would be happy to host a blood traitor Gryffindor. Neither would have Nott's father."

Draco nodded his head. Theodore had never been a Death Eater, but his father was a different story.

"Draco?" Lucius voice was heard from the other side of the door. "Is there someone in there? I've heard you talking to someone." He opened the door. "Oh, good afternoon, Mr. Zabini."

"Good afternoon, Mr. Malfoy. I was wondering whether Draco could spend the afternoon at my place?" he asked sweetly.

Lucius looked at his son, smiling. "Of course. Have fun, Draco."

Draco smiled at his father and followed Blaise through the Floo.

Coming out on the other side, Draco was greeted by the friendly faces of his friends. The Greengrass sisters, Pansy, Neville, Theodore and Tracey. Draco noted that Crabbe, Goyle and Millicent were absent. Draco wondered why but didn't dwell on it.

"Hi, Draco," piped Astoria.

"Draco, how generous of you to pay us a visit," teased Pansy.

"Hey, guys."

"We thought we could play a small Quidditch match," Zabini grinned. "You up for it, Mr. Slytherin Quidditch star?"

"Always," Draco laughed. "So you all on one team and me on another? We want to keep it fair, right?"

"Hmm, I don't know," Nott mused. "What if you fall off your broom again?" he smirked. "Don't you need someone on your team to save you?"

"Oh, you are so on," Draco laughed.

The day passed beautifully, and Draco wondered, not for the first time, why he'd never bothered to make friends the first time around.

* * *

 

The summer passed quickly, and Draco soon found himself in the Ministry of Magic on the 20th of August, the date of Sirius Black's trial.

There was a nervous buzz in the courtroom as everyone waited for Sirius Black to be escorted into the room.

The trial was open to the public and had drawn quite the crowd. Next to him and his mother - his father had decided to not join them - were Daphne, Astoria and Neville. Somewhere close to Dumbledore, Draco could make out the golden trio and several Weasleys. Remus Lupin was, of course, also present and he could also see Rita Skeeter in the crowd.

Most people in the public section had expressions of fear and excitement on their faces. A few were whispering to their friends. Some people were sitting with a grim expression on their faces. There was an undeniable tension in the air. Most eyes were fixated on the door, which suddenly clanged open. The muttering stopped immediately.

An Auror came through first, wand out. Behind him was Sirius Black. He looked worse than when Draco had last seen him but still better than when he had first found him. Behind him were another two Aurors.

He was set on a chair in the middle of the room and chained to it. Sirius glanced around the room and when his eyes fell on Draco and his friends, he flashed them a brief smile.

"You have been brought here before the Wizengamot today so that we may pass judgement on you regarding the murder of 12 muggles and a wizard, assisting in the murder of Lily and James Potter, treason and providing information to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named," started Amelia Bones. "Interrogator: Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Court Scribe, Percy Ignatius Weasley."

Draco studied the Weasley. Percy seemed rather nervous. It must have been his first trial, having only graduated three months earlier.

"Sirius Orion Black, do you understand the charges you have been convicted of?"

"Yes," Sirius replied.

"How do you plead?"

The whole room was so silent, one could hear a pin drop.

"Not guilty."

Murmurs swept through the room as soon as he said it, raising quickly in volume.

"Silence!" Amelia Bones managed the courtroom quite well, thought Draco. She didn't have to raise her voice to have everyone listen to her directions.

She called for the first witness.

The ministry, it seemed, was calling in every possible witness and piece of evidence it could to defend its conviction. They called every Auror and ministry official who had had anything to do with Sirius Black to the witness stand. They all told the same story of how Sirius had been standing in the middle of the blown up street, a massacre, laughing like a maniac and saying that everything had been his fault.

Draco was painfully reminded of the day in the Shrieking Shack, when Sirius had told Potter that it had been his fault, that his parents had died.

They even brought out the witness statements of the muggles that had witnessed the confrontation between Sirius and Peter.

"I was taking my dog for a walk," read an Auror out loud. "There were two men talking. They were weirdly dressed. They both had sticks in their hands. Weird, really. One was short and nervous, the other tall and aggressive. The tall one cornered the other man. Then the short one yelled something about betrayal. Then the whole street blew up. Just like that… It was a massacre… a nightmare… screaming and blood… bodies everywhere. And right in the middle: The tall man. Laughing like a maniac. A psychopath. People were dead, and he just laughed."

Draco winced. That did not sound good. Sirius really did sound like a crazy lunatic.

They read more testimonies, all similar to that one. Draco was getting nervous.

Then they talked to Aurors dealing with him after his arrest.

"Auror Moody, what was your initial impression of Sirius Black?" Amelia asked.

Draco felt queasy so close to that man. He knew that Moody hadn't been the guy who turned him into a ferret, but apparently his feelings didn't.

"Nice enough but constantly caused trouble. Never showed any respect to anyone. But he adored the Potters and arrested quite a few Death Eaters. Never would have suspected him of being the traitor if I hadn't known there was one."

"So you did suspect him?" asked Amelia.

"We knew there was a traitor and we knew he was close to Dumbledore and the Potters. The traitor also needed access to Ministry documents. Didn't leave many suspects."

"Was there anything else that made you suspect him?"

"Not really. He seemed like a good kid to me. But..." Moody trailed off.

"But what?"

"But the way he acted during and after his arrest... Not mourning his dead friends but laughing like a... There were three people who would have fit the criteria and could have been the spies. But how Sirius Black acted during and after his arrest led me to believe that he must have been the traitor."

"Thank you, Auror Moody."

Draco didn't think this was going well at all.

After Moody, they called Albus Dumbledore forward to testify.

"Upon the arrest of Sirius Black, you gave evidence that he was the Secret Keeper for the Potter family and that only the traitorous actions of this Secret Keeper could have given He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named the opportunity to murder the Potters. Do you stand by this?"

"I do," replied Dumbledore, frowning.

"Do you want to add anything to this?"

"Yes," Dumbledore said calmly. "In early October I obtained information leading me to believe that the Potters were targeted by Lord Voldemort," squeals and shuddering ran through the crowd. "It was I who advised the Potters to go into hiding under the Fidelius charm. I offered to be their Secret Keeper, but they refused, opting instead to place their trust in one of their friends, although they knew that there was probably a spy amongst them. A week before their death, James Potter informed me that Sirius Black would be their Secret Keeper. This was what lead me to believe Mr. Black was the traitor."

"Is it possible that they might have chosen someone else?"

"Yes," Dumbledore nodded. "But if they did, I was not made aware of it."

That was the end of day one. All the witnesses on the side of the prosecution had had their say and Draco wasn't at all convinced that Sirius would win his trial. The next day, the defense and Sirius would get the chance to say what was on their minds.

Draco left the courtroom, working his way through the masses, looking for his mother who he had lost in the crowd. He ran into someone and stumbled to the ground.

He looked up to see who he had run into and his eyes widened in fear and surprise.

"Aunt Bella!"

* * *

 

"Aunt Bella!" Draco gasped.

The woman smiled a sad smile. "Not quite."

The woman, tall and dark, her hair long, thick and shiny, moved a little closer. The closer she got the more it dawned on Draco that this wasn't Bellatrix Lestrange and his racing heart slowed down somewhat. This woman's hair was lighter and her eyes kinder.

"You must be Draco," the woman stated more than asked.

Draco nodded his head and stood up.

"It's nice to finally meet you," she reached out her hand which Draco tentatively shook.

He had never met her before, but knew instinctively who she was. Everything about her just screamed Black and her appearance reminded him equally of his other aunt and his mother.

"Andromeda?" he asked.

She smiled. "Yes."

"You are here for the trial?"

She nodded her head and her eyes glistened. "If what they are saying is true…" she trailed off.

"It is," Draco assured her. "I've talked to him. I'm sure they'll clear him of all charges," he said, more confidently than he actually felt.

"Oh, Sirius," Andromeda smiled.

Although she had never given anyone the impression that she had been unhappy about leaving the family, it must have been hard for her to be disowned and to lose her sisters. Sirius must have been her only family after that and then he got arrested, leaving her completely alone. Draco, however, had never had much sympathy for her fate. He had always felt that it had been her own fault. She had known what would happen if she married a muggle-born, but she did it regardless, not caring what it would do to the family.

"Draco!" he heard his mother yell sharply. He could see Andromeda's face fall and she looked wistfully into the direction of his mother.

"Good-bye, Draco," she whispered.

Draco walked over to his mother. Her face was expressionless, but Draco could feel the anger radiating off her.

"I don't want you to talk to her," she finally said.

"Why?"

His mother glared at him. "She is a traitor and no longer part of our family." Draco wondered whether she meant blood traitor or something more personal but didn't dare ask.

"If you can forgive Sirius why can't you-"

"No," his mother interrupted him. "Don't," she hissed.

His parents were quite uncompromising these days. They left the Ministry without exchanging another word.

At home, Draco finally asked, "Do you still think Sirius will win?"

His mother studied him for a few seconds.

"Yes, of course. This was just the prosecution so of course it sounded bad, but tomorrow it will be Sirius' turn to tell his story. I'm sure that will change everyone's minds."

"I hope so," Draco said.

His father did not mention the trial at all. He did not ask them how it went and seemed to altogether ignore the subject, which was fine by Draco.

* * *

The next day the courtroom was just as full as on the day before. It seemed like no one wanted to miss any part of the trial.

"Morning, Draco," said Daphne, sitting down next to him, followed by Astoria and Neville. Their parents were sitting somewhere else.

"Morning," he greeted.

"I hope today will go better than yesterday," Daphne said, frowning.

"I sure hope so too," said Draco but couldn't say anymore, because Amelia Bones started to speak.

"Resuming the trial of Sirius Orion Black," Amelia Bones started the second day of trials. "Yesterday we heard the prosecuting evidence. Today we will turn to questioning the indicted. Mr. Black," she talked to him directly now, "this is now your chance to present your defense, if you so wish."

Black straightened in his chair, looking at Amelia directly.

"Sirius Black, are you or have you ever been a Death Eater?" she asked.

"No," Black replied instantly.

"Have you ever actively supported He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"

"No, I have not."

Draco could hear yells of outrage. "Liar!" he heard someone yell.

"Silence," said Amelia to the audience before she turned back to Black. "So you claim that you aren't the one who betrayed the Potters?"

"Yes. James was my best friend. I would have never done anything to hurt him or his wife."

"But were you not their Secret Keeper?" asked Amelia.

"No, I wasn't. Peter Pettigrew was."

"Pettigrew is dead!" screamed someone in the audience.

"No, he isn't," answered Sirius defiantly.

"Excuse me, Mr. Black," Amelia continued undeterred, "but hasn't Albus Dumbledore himself told us that you were their Secret Keeper? Are you saying he lied?"

"No. James and Lily decided that I would be their Secret Keeper and told Dumbledore about it. But when they approached me I had this brilliant idea. Well, at least I thought it had been brilliant."

"What idea?"

"I was the best friend of James Potter so naturally I was the obvious choice for Secret Keeper. But I figured that everyone would know that, making me the worst possible choice. I thought choosing someone else would be better. Keep them save. No one would ever suspect Peter Pettigrew to be their Secret Keeper. So, in a way," his voice wavered, "it is my fault that they died. I told them to chose Peter instead of me. I never thought he would…" he trailed off, his voice hoarse. "I just couldn't believe… Can you imagine being friends with someone for ten years and then finding out that they betrayed you?"

"Convenient," Amelia continued, "that the person you are blaming is now dead and cannot defend himself."

"But he isn't dead! We didn't tell anyone because we knew there was a spy. Lot of good did that do."

"You didn't even tell your other best friend, Remus Lupin?"

Sirius winced.

"Times were difficult. We thought he might have been the spy." Sirius looked at Remus. "I am truly sorry, Remus."

The attention of the room wandered from Sirius to Remus Lupin, who smiled a sad smile.

"We wanted as few people to know as possible to keep word from getting out," Sirius sighed.

"Do you have any evidence for your claims?"

Sirius shook his head in defeat.

"You said that Peter Pettigrew was still alive. That is impossible."

Sirius stayed quiet for a while, then he mumbled, "he is an Animagus."

"What?"

"He is an Animagus," Sirius repeated, louder.

Gasps could be heard from the audience and people started whispering.

"Quiet," said Amelia, her brows furrowed. "There are only 7 registered Animagi in this century, none of whom are Peter Pettigrew."

Sirius rolled his eyes in frustration. "Yes, of course, because everyone who can turn into an animal of course registers with the ministry, especially during a time of war."

"You mean to say that Peter Pettigrew was an unregistered Animagi?"

"Not was. Is. But yes, that's what I'm saying."

"Still, there is no evidence for this claim. Can anyone confirm this?"

"Remus Lupin and Severus Snape can. As can Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Daphne and Astoria Greengrass and Draco Malfoy," said Sirius, now smiling.

Now the chattering of the crowd got so loud that Amelia Bones had to use her hammer to get them to quiet down. After some consideration, Remus Lupin was called to testify.

"Mr. Lupin, is Mr. Black's story in any way true?" asked Amelia once the formalities were out of the way.

Remus looked at Sirius and smiled. "I can confirm that Peter Pettigrew is still alive and an Animagus."

"You know this as a fact? Have you seen him transform?"

"Yes. More times than I can count. He has been an Animagus since our shared time at Hogwarts. He can take on the form of a rat."

"An unregistered Animagus and you haven't reported him?"

"We were friends and I am not aware of any law that would require me to report such a thing."

Amelia Bones looked unhappy but proceeded. "And you believe it is possible that it was Peter Pettigrew who betrayed the Potters and killed twelve muggles?"

"Yes."

"You have never come forward with any such statement before."

"No, I haven't. Up until a year ago, I myself believed him guilty." Remus turned towards Sirius. "I am sorry, Sirius."

Sirius just shrugged his shoulders and smiled at him.

"But I have seen Peter Pettigrew," Remus continued, looking at Amelia Bones again, "alive, just a few months ago on Hogwarts grounds," admitted Remus.

Soon Remus was telling the tale of their adventure in the Forbidden Forest. Narcissa looked quite stiff and pale, hearing what all had happened that night. Draco had never told her the whole story, choosing to leave out the more dangerous parts. Admittedly, so did Remus. He left out the part of him transforming into a werewolf.

Next, Severus Snape was called to testify. He looked rather unhappy, Draco thought. He wondered whether his godfather was here on his own account or because Dumbledore had asked aka forced him to. Draco thought that this was quite a dangerous idea. No one could stop him from telling the world that Lupin was a werewolf or that Sirius had tried to kill him. And then Sirius would be sent straight back to Azkaban for attempted murder and who knows what would happen to Remus.

Amelia Bones asked Severus the same question she had asked Remus. "Professor Snape, is Mr. Black's story in any way true?"

Severus avoided looking in Sirius' general direction. "Yes," he muttered, trying to keep the contempt out of his voice.

"Mr. Lupin has told us that you were present when they encountered Peter Pettigrew. Is this true?"

"Yes."

Draco wondered whether he would stay monosyllabic throughout the interrogation.

"So you have seen him transform?"

"Yes."

Amelia seemed to get fed up with his uncooperative answers. "Can you tell us what happened the night Peter Pettigrew came to Hogwarts."

Severus glowered but started his version of the events. He recounted how he had suspected Lupin and a few students of aiding Black into the castle when he still believed Sirius to be guilty. How he got informed of Black's presence at the school by Lupin and about the confrontation in the Shrieking Shack. He then, to Draco's immense relief, skipped the werewolf part and just said that Pettigrew freed himself and attacked them at the same time as they were attacked by several Dementors. He described the effects of the curse which Pettigrew had used but not which particular curse it had been. He explained how Dumbledore had come to their aid. Never once did he mention werewolves or any attempted murders or even that Black was an Animagus himself. Admittedly, he called Black and Lupin idiotic dunderheads a few times and criticized how they had gone about literally everything, but he never mentioned anything that would get them in trouble.

After Severus Snape, Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom were called up to testify. Potter didn't know all that much but he did everything he could to convince the Wizengamot that his godfather was innocent. Neville knew more. He told them how they had found Sirius in the forest, but that Black hadn't attacked them but had explained his situation and asked them for help.

A few more people testified and then Amelia Bones called for a break.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you have heard testimony for and against Mr. Black. The Wizengamot will now retreat to come to a verdict, which will be announced shortly."

* * *

 

Narcissa used the break to talk to family friends, leaving Draco with his friends. If she had anything about his company, she did not say so.

"That went well," said Neville and everyone agreed.

"Didn't look so well yesterday but I think he convinced the Wizengamot," Draco said.

"What do you think he's going to do if they free him of all charges?" asked Astoria.

Draco shrugged, then smiled. "Probably go to the Quidditch World Cup."

They all laughed.

Out of the corner of his eye, Draco saw Dumbledore.

"Excuse me guys, I need to go to the bathroom," before anyone could say anything, he had disappeared in the crowd.

"Headmaster," he greeted Albus Dumbledore.

"Ah Mr. Malfoy. What a pleasure to see you here," said Dumbledore good naturedly.

"I know what the-" Draco stopped, looking around the room. It wasn't very Slytherin of him to blurt things out like that but he had been dying to talk to someone about it since he had found out. "I know what  _He_ has made. I know what-"

Draco stopped when Dumbledore waved his wand.

"Muffliato?" Draco asked.

"One of your godfather's finest, if I may say so. Now we can speak freely."

"Speaking of my godfather," Draco furrowed his brows, "did he testify unsolicited?"

Dumbledore smiled. "A little persuasion on my part might have been involved."

"How ever did you end up in Gryffindor and not in Slytherin?" asked Draco, but only got an annoying twinkle in return.

"I know what Horcruxes are," he finally said what had been on his mind all break.

"Ah," Dumbledore said, not seeming surprised at all, "maybe not something we should discuss here."

"We could have discussed it last semester," Draco hissed, "if you'd just told me what they were. I am a grown man, damn it, I can handle things like that!"

"My apologies. Join me in my office at the beginning of the new school year and we shall discuss the matter."

"Fine," Draco grumbled. "I hope you realize that we will accomplish more if I work with you and not for you."

"I will tell you everything you want to know come September."

"Alright," Draco thought for a while. "Have you done anything about Moody?"

"I have put him under constant surveillance. Crouch will be arrested as soon as he shows himself."

Draco nodded his head. That sounded good.

"Will he still be Defense Professor?" Draco asked.

"All in due time. Patience is a virtue, Mr. Malfoy."

Draco sighed in annoyance. "Good-bye, headmaster," Draco said, having had enough of Dumbledore's cryptic behavior and his twinkling eyes.

Maybe the old coot thought that because his way had defeated Voldemort once, it was the only way to do things. But that wasn't why Draco was here. He wanted to change things, so the headmaster had to learn that they were equals. Or maybe not equals, Draco had to admit he would never be as wise or as powerful as Dumbledore. But still closer to being equal than the old man obviously thought.

When he found his friends again, they were animatedly discussing the trial with the golden trio, which Draco found amusing. It was good to know that Astoria and Daphne would be on his side if it came to another war.

His side, Draco mused. This must have been the first time he actually thought of the light side as his side.

"Oi, Draco," complained Neville, "what took you so long?"

"Got a little lost," he shrugged his shoulders.

"They let  _you_  in here?" complained Weasley and was promptly elbowed by Granger.

"The trial is open to the public, Weasel. Besides, it was my mother who got things into motion so how about you show a little more gratitude?"

Ron glared at him, but Draco mostly ignored him. He knew how deep grudges could run and he knew that during his first two years in school he hadn't given Weasley any reason to like him – quite the opposite, actually. Gaining his trust would take some time.

"How comes you didn't testify?" Ron suddenly asked, "If you and Sirius are such good pals?"

Draco flinched. Mentioning his father was probably not a good idea.

Potter and Granger looked uncomfortable.

"Maybe we should head back in? They must have come to a decision by now," Daphne interrupted, obviously trying to defuse the tension.

"Sure, let's head back in," Draco agreed, walking past Weasley without looking at him.

Back inside he found his mother talking to Severus Snape.

"Good evening, godfather," Draco greeted him.

"Draco," Severus inclined his head. "How has your summer been so far?"

"Quite pleasant. Yours, sir?"

"Busier than usual," his godfather frowned. "I am afraid I must leave now. Have a nice evening, Draco. Narcissa."

"Don't be a stranger," his mother said, smiling.

Draco set down next to his mother and was soon joined by his friends.

Waiting for the Wizengamot to return, Draco realized how nervous he actually was. Not guilty would not only mean that he had saved Sirius, it would also mean that he was actually able to change the past in a significant way. Saving Sirius might mean he would also be able to save others.

Ten minutes later, the members of the Wizengamot reconvened. Amelia looked at the people gathered in the courtroom.

"Members of the Wizengamot," she began, "have you reached a verdict?"

One of the members who had been appointed spokesperson stood up. "We have. On the charges of treason and murder," Draco held his breath, "we find the defendant not guilty."

At first, there was silence. Then, a deafening cheer rose from the audience. Draco could see Potter, surrounded by the smiling Weasley family, beaming as he jumped up and applauded. Narcissa clapped her hands and smiled at her son.

Draco felt a smile creep onto his face, when he was suddenly crushed in a tight hug. He turned his head to see that it was Daphne. Soon Astoria and Neville joined in, turning it into a group hug.

"He's free," mumbled Neville, "we won."

"We did." Draco beamed.

They made their way through the crowd to Sirius, who was surrounded by the golden trio, a few Weasleys and Dumbledore.

"Draco! Neville!" Sirius was ecstatic and pulled them into a bear hug. "Thank you, guys. I couldn't have done this without you." He then smiled at Daphne and Astoria.

Draco's mother joined them. "Congratulations, Sirius," she said smiling and Sirius embraced her, too.

"Thanks, Cissy," he mumbled.


	15. Chapter 15

The next couple of days kept Draco busy. His mother had decided to take charge of the officially-cleared-of all-charges Sirius upon hearing the verdict and took it upon herself to turn him into a respected member of the wizarding society. For Narcissa, this included new robes, presentable living arrangements, and of course a new wand. As doting on Sirius, who clearly enjoyed the attention, demanded a lot of time, effort and money, Draco had to help wherever his mother thought he could.

One of their first missions was acquiring a new wand. Draco entered Ollivander's first and was greeted by a familiar voice. "Ah, 10 inches, hawthorn and unicorn hair, if I remember correctly. Quite an intriguing combination," smiled Ollivander. His smile faltered when Sirius entered the room behind him. "Dogwood and unicorn hair, 11 inches," stated Ollivander, frowning.

"That would be me," smiled Sirius wistfully.

"To break a wand," Ollivander sighed, "a crime all on its own."

Sirius looked rather uncomfortable.

"Of course, I never believed it had been you who betrayed the Potters-" continued Ollivander.

"He needs a new wand," interrupted Draco's mother, stepping into the shop, not caring for their lamenting.

"Obviously," muttered Sirius under his breath.

"Ah, let me see what I can do for you," Ollivander rummaged through several shelves. "A second wand is quite different from a first wand, you must know." Ollivander started to brabble on about wandlore and Merlin knew what. Draco tuned him out after a few sentences. Instead he watched Sirius try out several wands. It took them quite some time, but in the end, Sirius, for the first time in thirteen years, owned a wand again.

"13 inches, dragon heartstring and cedar," mused Mr. Ollivander as Narcissa handed him the money. "Quite a bit more flexible than your old wand, I must say. A wand which reflects strength of character and unwavering loyalty."

Sirius looked ridiculously happy.

* * *

Wandering Diagon Alley was a strange experience. Everywhere they went, heads turned and people whispered. No one dared approach them, but they were the centre of everyone's attention. Narcissa strode ahead, head held high, an air of aloofness surrounding her, and it almost seemed like she was unaware of the people talking about the odd family outing. Behind her was Sirius, excited like a puppy who met another puppy for the first time in his life. It was his first trip to the real world, among people, as himself. Draco trotted behind them, thinking about his first week back in the past and his vow to not attract any attention.

The Daily Prophet had been all over Sirius' case. His story had been the head line for days. Draco was sure it was only due to his father's influence that the Malfoy name had not been mentioned in any of them. But what good did that do if everyone saw them walking along Diagon Alley together? He had even heard that Rita Skeeter wanted to write a book about Sirius Black. He doubted she would manage that without dragging both the Black and the Malfoy names through the mud. Avoiding attention was a lot harder then Draco had originally imagined it would be. At least the Ministry had been criticized thoroughly after the whole ordeal.

Their group was heading straight for Gringotts. It would have been their first stop had Narcissa not insisted to pay for Sirius' new wand.

Sirius had a lot to take care of at Gringotts. Being the only descendant of Orion and Walburga Black who was still alive and having been imprisoned for over a decade had led to a huge pile of paper work waiting for him. Draco and Sirius were surprised to find out that Orion and Walburga had never formally disowned Sirius. Perhaps Draco should not have been so surprised, his mother had mentioned something like that over Christmas, but there had been so much else going on that he had not given it further thought.

"Why wasn't he properly disowned?" Draco asked his mother while Sirius was busy with the goblins.

"With only two sons and a war going on? I think Orion did not want to put all of his eggs in one basket. He probably thought that Sirius would come around eventually. And Draco, this you will understand when you have children of your own, blood is thicker than water. Sirius was, after all, still their son and I assume that they loved him. Even though they fought and disagreed, and sometimes hated each other… They still loved him." She smiled at him but her eyes looked sad.

Not for the first time, Draco wondered whether his parents would still love him once they found out he wasn't on their side anymore. Would they accept him? Or would they disown him and throw him onto the street? He hoped for the former, but feared that if it really came down to it it would be the latter. For all her talk about family, Narcissa had not talked to her sister Andromeda in years and seemed to find nothing wrong with her having been disowned.

"Just out of curiosity," Draco said, changing the topic for the sake of his mood and his sanity, "what happened to the vault of aunt Bella?"

He could see his mother wince. "It belongs to us for as long as she is in Azkaban, just as Sirius' had while he was imprisoned," she said quietly.

It belonged to them? Well, wasn't that a lucky coincidence. An idea formed in his mind. Draco looked at his mother as innocently as he could and asked, "what's in it?"

"Money and some old heirlooms, as far as I remember. I haven't looked inside ever since... you know..."

"Can we go look at it?" Draco asked although he sensed his mother's discomfort. He hoped that he sounded like a nosy teenager and not like a spy intending to rob the vault.

"Why would you want to do that?"

"Just out of curiosity. I never got to know aunt Bella. And we are already here, and I am bored. Sirius is taking forever."

"Fine," his mother finally conceded.

One of the goblins lead them deep into Gringotts. In front of the vault, Narcissa hesitated. "You go inside Draco. Look around. Don't you dare touch or take anything. I'll wait here for you," she finally said.

"Okay, mother," Draco said. He had never considered that his mother might miss her sister. It was a strange thought that someone out there actually loved that vile woman. He wondered whether she would still love her if she knew she had killed Sirius.

Draco entered the vault and the door behind him disappeared. The vault was, from the floor to the ceiling, filled with golden coins, goblets, silver armor, the skins of strange creatures, potions in jeweled flasks and a skull wearing a crown.

He took out his wand. "Accio Horcrux," he tried but to no avail.

How was Draco supposed to find the Horcrux, if there really was one in here?

He'd just have to go through the various items and hope that one stood out to him.

He examined a pile of objects. When he grabbed a goblet, a soaring pain shot through his arm.

"Argh!" he dropped the goblet.

Among impact on the ground, the goblet multiplied and soon the floor was covered in identical cups rolling around.

Draco inspected his hand. It had a few blisters on it.  _Gemino_  and  _Flagrante_  Curses, he thought.

Draco desperately tried not to touch anything, but it was impossible not to. Every time he turned to look at an object he would brush against another until it became almost impossible to stand anywhere on the floor without touching anything.

He decided that his endeavor was hopeless and turned around to leave, but he stumbled over a silver helmet, which soon turned into 20 helmets.

Draco tried to keep his balance but as one of the helmets burned his arm, he jumped back and fell against a shelf. Everything on it came falling towards him.

"Arresto Momentum!" he cried and the various objects from the shelf slowed down mid-fall before they could bury Draco beneath them and burn him alive. Everything had stopped falling but one goblet, which was immune to the spell and hit Draco straight in the face. He crawled out from under the slowly moving avalanche of old heirlooms and, on second thought, grabbed the goblet.

While the shelf came slowly crashing down next to him, he inspected the goblet. It was a small golden cup with two finely-wrought handles with a badger engraved on the side and a few jewels. Most importantly, it did not multiply or burn his hand.

"Yes," Draco cheered. That must be it.

He hid the goblet in his robes and left the vault.

"What happened to your hand?" his mother asked, a worried look on her face, as soon as Draco had left the vault.

"I think," Draco answered, "aunt Bella really doesn't like it when people touch her stuff."

His mother chuckled. "Serves you right, then."

Back home he hid the goblet in his room, putting several spells on it, so even if someone went through his things, they would find nothing.

* * *

After the outing to Diagon Alley, his mother had made it her personal business to make Grimmauld Place, for centuries the home of the Blacks which had been empty for quite a few years, inhabitable and presentable. Draco, naturally, had to help.

It wasn't so much cleaning – that was after all the job of the grumpy house elf – but painting, buying furniture, rearranging stuff, and so on, that kept them busy.

Grimmauld Place turned from the dark and dirty hole it had been when Draco first stepped into it, into a light and friendly place filled with friends and family. Besides him and his mother, Neville, the Greengrass sisters, Remus Lupin and the golden trio were regular guests.

It was a lot of work, but Draco had fun. He could spend time with his friends, his mother and Sirius. Besides, being an only child made summer holidays quite boring, especially now that they had skipped their vacation.

Even the golden trio warmed up to him somewhat. They would still look at him skeptically from time to time, but overall, they accepted him.

* * *

Once Grimmauld Place was presentable enough for his mother's liking, Sirius Black threw a huge party, celebrating his freedom with old friends and family.

"Are you sure you don't want to join us?" his mother asked his father before they left for the party.

"Quite," said his father. "Besides," he continued, "I will have guests of my own tonight."

"Who?" asked his mother.

"Nott, Yaxley, Dolohov, Snape and some others. Are you sure you wouldn't rather stay with us, Draco?"

"Thank you, father," Draco said, "but I've already promised Daphne and Astoria that I would be at the party."

Lucius looked at his son for a long moment. "Fine," he finally said. "Do as you please. Just know that soon you might find yourself in a situation where who you associate with and the image you thus create becomes of vital importance. I hope you will make the right decision then."

"Don't worry," Draco looked his father straight in the eyes, "I will."

* * *

 

Although there had been a lot of tension between the three Malfoys during the last weeks of summer break and Draco knew that the event would end on a rather depressing note, Draco was happy to spend time with his father at the Quidditch World Cup. His mother had decided to stay at home, having had enough excitement for one summer.

Draco and his father talked amiably about Quidditch. It was a passion they both shared. Draco told his father how he had caught the snitch in school right out under Potter's nose and how they had consequently won the house cup. His father told Draco that he was proud of him. Then they talked about the World Cup and bought tons of merchandise - Draco made sure to buy something for each of his friends. They had fun.

All that changed when they arrived in their box. 

"Good job too, these Bulgarian blighters have been trying to cadge all the best places…," Draco could hear Fugde say, "ah, and here's Lucius!"

Draco and Lucius came face to face with Potter, a couple of Weasleys, Granger and Sirius. How could Draco have forgotten the company he had had to endure the first time he had been here? But then again, the Cup itself and the subsequent events had been so memorable that it was easy to forget such details, especially now as they did not bother him so much anymore. But his father would certainly not feel the same way Draco now felt about the Gryffindor majority in their box. 

Draco was brought back into the real world by Sirius pulling into into a bear hug. "Good to see you, Draco."

Draco returned the hug but was aware of how his father had grown tense.

"Ah, Fudge," said Lucius, shaking the hand of the Minister. "How are you? I don't think you've met my son, Draco?"

"How do you do, how do you do?" said Fudge, smiling and shaking Draco's hand. "Allow me to introduce you to Mr. Oblansk – Obalonsk – Mr. – well, he's the Bulgarian Minister of Magic, and he can't understand a word I'm saying anyway, so never mind. And let's see who else – you know Sirius Black and Arthur Weasley, I daresay?"

It was a tense moment. Lucius' eyes swept over the two men. "Good lord, Arthur," he said softly. "What did you have to sell to get seats in the Top Box? Surely your house wouldn't have fetched this much?"

Draco flinched. Hearing his father speak so cruelly was like looking into a mirror. This was how he had been his whole life. A conceited git. Draco felt ashamed every time he was reminded of his original past and how it had taken a full-on war, a murder attempt and a couple of corpses before he realized how wrong he had been. He thought on how the night would end and felt cold dread overcome him.

"Oh, shut up," growled Sirius and Draco shot him a pleading look.

Fudge, who hadn't been listening, said, "Lucius has just given a very generous contribution to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, Arthur. He's here as my guest."

"How – how nice," said Mr. Weasley, with a very strained smile. Sirius glared at Lucius but didn't say anything.

Lucius stared at Hermione, his lip curled.

Draco sat himself between his father and Sirius and until the game started everyone remained on edge.

Surprisingly, during the match everyone in the box seemed to forget their rivalry and just enjoyed the moment. Why couldn't things always be like that?

After the game, Lucius grabbed Draco by the arm and dragged him out of the box.

Thankfully, the celebration soon took Lucius' mind off things and he celebrated with his son and the other purebloods who were present.

"Draco!" yelled Theodore Nott, as soon as he had spotted Draco among the masses. "This was so awesome! Best day ever."

"Hey, Theo," smiled Draco. "Looks like you owe me some money."

"No shit – you guessed all the results!"

Draco laughed. "Maybe I should have taken Divination after all."

"Urgh," Theodore wrinkled his nose but then laughed as well. "I heard they cleared Black of all charges. How do you feel about that?"

"Pretty good. He's here, too."

"Really? Why aren't you with him?"

Draco looked over to his father who was talking to the older Nott. "I don't think my father would be on board with that idea."

"Yeah, well, parents don't always know best, I think," muttered Theodore absentmindedly.

"Don't be so serious," Draco said, "let's enjoy the party."

They spent the rest of the day celebrating and having fun.

* * *

But at night, once the festivities were – at least for everyone underage – over, Draco couldn't fall asleep. He knew what was going to happen. Just, this time, his father hadn't told him about it. The first time around he had told him. But this time it was just vague hints that something would happen.

He lay in his bed in their tent, wide awake, worrying. Would things still be the same? Would they be worse? Or better?

He jumped out of his bed when the screaming started. He looked around, but the tent was empty – his father was gone.

Draco left the tent.

People were running away into the woods, fleeing. Draco could hear loud jeering, roars of laughter and drunken yells.

Hooded and masked figures were walking together, levitating four struggling bodies.

Draco didn't look their way. He knew who they were and what they were doing to them. The first time around, he found the struggling muggles funny; this time he felt repulsed by the whole thing, his father and himself. The whole thing was sick and wrong. How could he have ever found that amusing?

He decided to go and look for Theo.

He made his way through the tents, shouting his name. He knew the Nott's tent was closer to the forest but had no idea where exactly it was.

He saw Sirius Black run past him in the direction of the Death Eaters, and then bumped into someone.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" muttered none other than Ron Weasley.

Something was wrong. The last time, the first time, this happened, they hadn't been running towards the commotion but away from it.

Draco bristled. "What are you doing here? You should get out of here," he said, looking at Potter and Granger, who were standing behind Ron.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Hermione defiantly.

"Don't be daft," Draco drawled. "They're after muggles."

"Hermione's a witch," scoffed Ron.

Draco glared at him. "Never said she wasn't." Draco really didn't feel like he had time for this. "There's a bunch of Death Eaters attacking. Do you really think it's a good idea for the boy who lived and a muggleborn to run in there?"

"What are Death Eaters?" asked Potter.

Draco frowned at him. "Have you never bothered to open a book and read about what happened to your parents? Death Eaters are the followers of the D- of You-Know-Who."

"Wouldn't you know all about that?" asked Ron and Draco glared at him.

"We are not just gonna stand by and do nothing when they are attacking innocent people, Malfoy," huffed Potter.

"Fine then," Draco sighed. "Go ahead and get yourself killed." He wondered how necessary Potter really was for winning the war. Perhaps with his knowledge, Dumbledore could bring Voldemort down on his own. He looked at them for a few seconds. "Have any of you seen Nott?"

"What? No. So you're going to run?" Potter asked.

"Coward," mouthed Ron.

"Rather a coward than an idiot. A dead idiot, by the way," hissed Draco. "Do you think you running in there is going to do any good? Do you think you'll be able to beat some of the Dark Lord's right hand men? Do you even know how shield charms work? Or are you going to hope that the excellent Defense lessons we've had so far will save you?"

"This isn't about winning," said Hermione. "And it's not about being safe. It's about doing what's right. Fighting for what's good and right."

Harry nodded. "You might be able to run and hide from this today, Malfoy. But you won't always be. One day you'll be in a situation where you have to choose to either fight the problem or become part of the problem. Ignoring it is not an option. You'll have to pick a side."

That came out of the blue. He didn't really know what to say. He had kind of hoped that he could stay somewhere in between until the Dark Lord actually returned. Defying the Dark Lord by giving Dumbledore crucial information was very different from outright dueling his father. He'd have to publicly pick a side soon and although he already knew which side that would be, he still dreaded that day. It would be the day he'd lose his family and many of his friends. It was hard to know that their love was conditional. That they wouldn't love him no matter what. He knew that it would eventually come to this, but right now he did not feel ready to burn these bridges and cut all ties to his family. He still loved them, after all.

"Easy for you to say," Draco hissed, turning to leave.

"Going to your father? He is one of them, right?" called Weasley after him. "Coward!"

Draco didn't turn around. They would probably run after Black and get all four of them killed. Stupid Gryffindors. Couldn't even wait for  _His_  return to die.

The last comments had stung more than Draco would have liked to admit.

As he made his way through the camping site, he finally found a green tent that looked vaguely familiar. He tentatively looked inside.

There, Draco found Theo pacing, alone.

"This can't be happening. Not yet. No… I'm not ready… I can't do this…" His words echoed how Draco had just felt talking to Potter and his friends.

When he noticed Draco, he stopped rambling and looked wary.

"Theo?"

Nott clenched and unclenched his fists. "Yeah?" he asked.

"We need to get out of here," he whispered frantically, grabbing Theo's arm, but Theo pulled away. Apparently, Draco had been correct in his assessment that Theo had spent more time with him because he had distanced himself from his old world view. But distancing yourself from something and actually turning your back on it are two different things and trust was hard earned in the house of the snakes.

"It's dangerous," Draco added, "they are burning down tents. Somehow I doubt they'll check if someone's in them before they do that."

Theo nodded, following Draco out into the war zone. People were still running and screaming.

They ran towards the forest until they were out of breath and in a somewhat secluded area.

Theo fell to his knees, breathing heavily.

"Everything all right?" Draco asked, concerned.

"No," Theo said, shaking. "Are you one of them?"

"One of whom?" Draco was nervous. One Death Eater attack and suddenly everyone was talking about sides again. This wasn't a war. Not yet.

Theo narrowed his eyes. "I was always so sure about you," he rambled. "Being just like your father, hating Potter and mudbloods and everything. I'm not anymore, though. Something about you changed."

Draco wanted to say something but could hear a group of people approaching.

Theo and Draco hid behind some trees, watching how a few Death Eaters, their fathers included, surrounded a family of muggleborns. Draco watched his father levitating the father of the family and one of the others yelled "Crucio".

The children screamed as they watched their father writhe in pain.

Draco felt disgusted.

He could feel Nott jump into action next to him, so he grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Leave me be," Theo hissed. "Maybe you can… maybe you can just stand by and watch them do this, but I can't! And I won't."

Draco could hear someone yell "Avad-".

Theo shook off Draco and jumped out of their hiding place, sending a stinging hex towards one of the Death Eaters.

Draco could hear Theo yell, "Leave them be!"

"Theodore," growled his father.

Draco gulped. That hadn't happened the last time. This was worse. No matter how tonight would end, it definitely would be worse than it had originally been.

"Why, Nott," muttered Draco's father, amused, "looks like your son's gone and turned traitor."

"I thought better of you, son," continued the older Nott. "Step aside."

"N-no! They haven't done anything to you and I won't let you hurt them."

Draco was quite impressed by how brave Theo was. Brave and stupid. He was signing his own death certificate. Five Death Eaters versus one 14-year-old, Draco didn't need Divination to know how that would end.

"Step aside or you will regret it," roared Nott Senior.

"No!"

By now the muggleborn family had seized the opportunity and scurried away.

"Traitor! You are no son of mine," said Nott, his voice cold. "Crucio!"

* * *

 

Cold dread washed over Draco as he heard the screams of agony from his friend and the others laughing.

Draco knew it was stupid and that he would probably die as well, but no matter what it would cost him, he knew intuitively that he couldn't just let the Death Eaters torture or kill Theo. So, although plagued by feelings of dread and fear, the decision was ultimately an easy one.

He left his safe spot and fired an "Incarcerous" at Mr. Nott, who fell to the ground, bound and gagged.

Immediately, he was attacked by several spells, curses and hexes. He raised a shield which was just enough to block them. He stood between Theo, who lay groaning on the ground, and the Death Eaters.

"Stop it!" Draco could hear his father yell as soon as he realized who they were attacking. "Stop attacking him!"

But they didn't. Draco was surprised to see his father, who he recognized immediately although he was wearing a mask, casting a stinging hex at one of his friends who was just about to Crucio him.

"How dare you attack my son?" he growled.

"Nice son you got there," hissed whoever he had just attacked. "Traitorous scum."

"Draco," his father started, now addressing him, his tone warning, "stay out of this."

Draco's stomach was in knots. He wasn't ready for this. He wasn't ready to chose between his parents and his new friends. Between what he knew now was right and his family.

"I'm sorry, father," he started. "Theo's my friend and I can't just watch you kill him." It sounded braver than Draco actually felt.

"Oh, don't worry boy," tutted another voice which Draco did not recognize, "we won't kill him." The voice was disgustingly sweet, and Draco didn't believe a word it said.

"J-just let me and Theo leave," Draco tried. "I really don't want any trouble."

"It's a little late for that," continued the voice, "Crucio!"

Draco could jump out of the way just in time, but the Death Eaters sent hex after hex at him. Lucius shouted at his colleagues, but they didn't listen to him anymore.

Draco wasn't sure how much longer he could keep up with them. So far, he had blocked what was sent at him, but he was starting to tire. He could feel his shield charm growing weaker by the second and the next hit had him stumbling backwards and landing on the ground next to Theo. This was it, he thought grimly. With three wands pointed at his head, he had no clue how he should get out of this situation.

"Stupefy!" he could hear a voice roar and this time it wasn't aimed at him. The cavalry had finally arrived. Relief washed over him.

Sirius Black rushed onto the scene, sending hexes at the Death Eaters.

Draco crawled towards Theo. "Hey, Theo. Look at me. Everything's going to be alright," he tried to calm his still shaking friend.

Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Potter and his friends joining the fight.

Suddenly, something vast, green, and glittering erupted from the darkness of the night. All fighting stopped as everyone gazed into the sky. It was a colossal skull, with a serpent protruding from its mouth like a tongue. It rose higher and higher, blazing in a haze of greenish smoke, etched against the black sky.

The wood all around them erupted in screams. The Death Eaters looked at each other, Lucius throwing Draco one final glance, then they all disapparated.

"What the hell is that?" asked Potter, staring into the sky.

"It's the Dark Mark, Harry!" Hermione moaned. "You-Know-Who's sign!"

"Hey, you two," Sirius said, kneeling down next to Draco, "everything alright?"

Draco looked at him, not knowing where to begin. "No," he finally muttered.

Sirius nodded, casting a diagnostic spell on Theodore. "What happened?" he glanced at the still bound, gagged and masked form of the older Nott.

The golden trio joined them around Theo.

"A couple of Death Eaters attacked a family… Theo tried to stop them. They attacked him… His father…" he trailed off. Draco glanced at his friend.

"Bastard," whispered Sirius. Together they helped Theo on his feet.

He was pale and trembling, but didn't look hurt otherwise.

A couple of Aurors arrived, asking them a few questions and taking the older Nott with them.

One of the wizards who had arrived on the scene seemed to have been from St. Mungo's and he immediately checked on Theo.

Mr. Weasley arrived at the scene then. "Is everyone alright?"

"Dad, what's going on?" Ron asked immediately.

"Did you get the person who conjured the Mark?" asked Hermione.

"We found Barty Chrouch's elf holding someone else's wand, but we're none the wiser about who actually conjured the Mark."

"Can someone explain what that skull thing was?" said Ron impatiently. "It wasn't hurting anyone… Why's it such a big deal?"

"I told you, it's You-Know-Who's symbol, Ron," said Hermione, before anyone else could answer. "I read about it in  _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts_."

"And it hasn't been seen for thirteen years," said Mr. Weasley quietly. "Of course, people panicked… it was almost like seeing You-Know-Who back again."

"I don't get it," said Ron, frowning. "I mean… it's still only a shape in the sky…"

"Ron, You-Know-Who and his followers sent the Dark Mark into the air whenever they killed," said Mr. Weasley. "The terror it inspired… you have no idea, you're too young. Just picture coming home and finding the Dark Mark hovering over your house, and knowing what you're about to find inside…" Mr. Weasley winced. "Everyone's worst fear… the very worst…"

There was silence for a moment. Draco felt sick. It was hard to hear about "his" side from this point of view. How could he ever think that joining the Death Eaters was a good idea? That what they were doing was okay?

"The Death Eaters all disappeared once they saw the sign," mumbled Hermione.

Mr. Weasley nodded his head. "They all disapparated before we got near enough to unmask any of them. Well," he glanced in Theodore's direction, "all of them but Nott."

Theodore was talking to an auror and to a mediwitch. Sirius was standing next to him.

"What will happen to him?" asked Draco tentatively. He wasn't sure whether it was a good idea to remind them that he was there, but he needed to know.

"Azkaban, probably," said Mr. Weasley, looking at Draco. For the first time since Draco had first met the man, Arthur didn't look at him warily.

"They better. It's where they should put your father, too," muttered Ron. "He was probably the one who conjured the Mark."

"No, he wasn't," hissed Draco.

"How would you know?"

"You saw-" Draco stopped himself. No, they apparently hadn't seen him. They hadn't recognized his father among the Death Eaters and they wouldn't have any proof that he was one of them unless Draco told them. "Never mind." Draco turned his gaze towards Theo, just so he did not have to look at the Weasel.

"You-" Ron started but was interrupted by his father's warning "Ronald."

"Draco," Mr. Weasley turned to him. "You and Theodore have done a very noble and brave thing today."

Draco nodded his head. He didn't feel well at all. "What's going to happen to Theo now? He only had his father."

"He will stay with me," said Sirius, walking over to them together with Theo, "until we can figure out a better solution."

Draco smiled at Theo and Sirius. He felt less like an unwanted intruder when they were around.

Theo still looked very shaken, but Draco couldn't tell whether it was from the Cruciatus or the events in general.

"Draco!" he could hear his father's voice bellow. He spun around to see his father standing a few feet away from them. "We are leaving," he said, his voice icy.

Draco gulped. He didn't dare disobey his father more than he already had.

He glanced at the others, but no one said anything.

He walked to his father, looking at Theo one last time, mouthing "Everything's going to be alright," in his direction.

His father grabbed him by the shoulder and without a word, disapparated.

* * *

 

They apparated in front of Malfoy Manor with a deafening crack. Lucius' magic seemed to reflect his mood.

The tight grip Draco's father had on his shoulder and the violent landing made Draco feel sick.

Lucius pushed Draco in front of him, towards the manor.

"Father-"

"Don't," he hissed. "I don't want to hear a word."

Draco gulped and trotted towards the manor. He had never been scared of his father before, but he was now.

The manor was dark and quiet. It was in the middle of the night and Narcissa was probably asleep.

"Go to your room," Lucius hissed, barely controlling his anger. He stormed towards his study and slammed the door shut.

Draco hurried into his room, closed the door and threw himself onto his bed. He buried his head in his pillow.

He was a grown man, he shouldn't be crying. But he did. Within one day the summer had turned from one of the best to one of the worst.

His father would probably kill him. Or worse, disown him.

He fell into a restless sleep. Violent nightmares woke him several times. Dumbledore's death, Astoria's death, the Quidditch World Cup and his father,…

He woke, the next morning, covered in sweat. He felt exhausted and did not dare leave his room.

An hour after he would usually eat his breakfast, his mother tentatively knocked on his door. "Draco, darling, may I come in?"

Draco, still in his bed and feeling miserable, muttered, "No."

There was a short silence. "Please, let me in. What happened?" his mother asked pleadingly. "You return in the middle of the night, without a word, and now your father is not leaving his study and you are buried in here... You can talk to me. Please, talk to me."

Draco felt sick again. "Go away."

Silence.

"No," Narcissa said. After a while, she added, "I'm coming in."

Draco didn't say anything. He hid under his blanket, but could hear his mother approaching and feel her put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"What happened?" she asked softly.

"You'll hate me if I tell you," Draco muttered.

"There is nothing in the world you could do to make me hate you," she said.

Draco flinched. How he wished he could believe her. "Father hates me."

"I doubt that. He might be angry, but we are your parents, we will always love you."

Draco didn't say anything for a while. "Have you read the Prophet today?" he finally asked.

His mother didn't answer right away, so Draco assumed she knew the gist of what had happened. Hesitantly, he began to explain how Theodore Nott had defied his father and how they had tortured him and how Draco had tried to protect him.

Narcissa listened, never interrupting Draco as he spoke. She gently rubbed his back, while he talked.

"Thank you for telling me," she finally said once he was done.

"Are you mad at me?" Draco asked, finally lifting the blanket.

"No, darling. Everything will be alright." She looked worried though. "Why don't you go down and eat breakfast? You must be starving. I will talk to your father." She kissed Draco on the forehead and left the room.

Draco wasn't sure whether she really didn't mind, but having told her, he felt better. He made his way downstairs.

His parents soon joined him at the table. Apparently, his mother had succeeded in coaxing Lucius out of his study as well. Lucius didn't say a word and didn't look in Draco's direction.

They ate their food in a tense silence and Lucius left again, as soon as he was done eating.

That's how the rest of the week went as well. Draco would stay in his room and Lucius would lock himself into his study. They would eat meals together but not exchange as much as a glance in the other's direction. Narcissa would try to get the both of them to talk, unsuccessfully. Sometimes, Draco could hear them fighting over something.

After that first breakfast, Draco wrote letters explaining what had happened to Neville and the Greengrass sisters. He hoped the sisters would understand. They had both been against pureblood ideals after the war, but Draco wasn't so sure where they stood now.

He wrote another letter to Sirius, telling him that he was okay and that he shouldn't worry about him. He really hoped Theo was okay.

The atmosphere at the manor was so tense that Draco couldn't wait to leave and go back to Hogwarts.


	16. Chapter 16

Narcissa brought Draco to King's Cross as his father still wasn't willing to speak to him.

"He will come around," his mother said to him, but Draco wasn't so sure about that. "Have a good year. I love you, darling, no matter what," said Narcissa and hugged Draco.

"Love you, too," he mumbled.

He didn't see anyone he knew at the station, so he went onto the train right away. He soon realized that the events of the summer must have split his group of friends in two. He saw Crabbe, Goyle and Zabini in one compartment and found Theodore and the golden trio in another. After a few minutes of internal debate, Draco decided to poke his head into the Gryffindor compartment.

"Have they resorted you?" Draco asked, looking at Theo.

Theo looked up nervously. Draco got the feeling that he was scared that Draco wouldn't associate with him anymore. Or that he was mocking him. But when their eyes met, Theo relaxed and smiled as well.

"Looks like it," he shrugged his shoulders.

"Serves you right," teased Draco. "Jumping head first into danger like a Gryffindor."

Theo pulled Draco into a hug. "Thanks for saving me, mate."

"No worries," Draco said. "Mind if I sit with you?"

Nott looked at the other occupants of the compartment, but they all just shrugged their shoulders. "Sure," he finally said, and Draco sat down next to him.

"Wrong decision, mate," sneered a voice from behind Draco. Draco spun around and saw Crabbe and Goyle standing in the compartment door. They must have seen him pass their compartment earlier.

"You should be careful who you spend your time with," Goyle spat. He then turned to Theo, "traitor," he mumbled. "Better watch your back."

"Don't remember asking you to join us," Potter said coolly, but he had reached for his wand.

"I so hope it will be you, Potter," drawled Goyle, "'d like to see you get crushed by a dragon or something." They laughed and left the compartment.

"Oh, this is going to be a fun year," sighed Draco sarcastically. He had really hoped they wouldn't turn on him, but then again, they had done the same thing during their last year at Hogwarts, when Draco's high standing had been damaged by his father's imprisonment and his failure in killing Dumbledore.

"Don't let them get to you, Theodore," said Hermione reassuringly.

Theo looked rather pale.

"Hope I will be what?" Potter asked after a while with a puzzled look on his face. "Goyle said he hopes it'll be me..."

"Seriously? You lot are the least informed people I've ever met. I mean, don't you have a father  _and_  brother in the ministry?" replied Draco, looking at Ron.

"The stuff Percy has been rambling about?" Ron asked.

"The Triwizard Tournament," finished Draco.

"Triwizard what?"

Draco rolled his eyes. He was just lacking the patience for people raised by muggles.

"It's a competition between the biggest schools of wizardry in Europe," supplied Theodore. "Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. A champion is selected to represent each school, and the three compete in three different magical tasks. They used to do it every five years."

"Used to?" asked Hermione.

"Too many people died," said Draco.

Hermione grew pale.

"Cool," said Potter and Weasley in unison.

That's when Neville and Daphne opened the door. "Do you have room for two more?" Neville asked.

The compartments could comfortably fit six people, but they all squeezed together, and Daphne and Neville joined them.

They, of course, had tons of questions about the Quidditch World Cup.

Theo, Draco and the golden trio spent half of the train ride summarizing what had happened.

"Oh my," whispered Daphne, once they had finished their story. "Thank god you're alright, Theo. This could have ended really, really badly. How are you? How's living with Sirius?"

"I'm fine," he said, but no one looked convinced. "No, really. I mean, yeah, it sucks, and I wish things were different," he trailed off, lost in thought. "But living with Black is fun. And, you know,  _he gets me_. He's been there. Same situation, pretty much. Didn't share his family's opinions, got kicked out,… He knows the struggle. He knows how it feels to be unwanted by those who..." Theo did not finish the sentence. He stared out of the window for a few seconds, before he said, "he understands me. We can talk about things."

"That's good," mumbled Neville.

Theo nodded. "What did your father think about everything, Draco?"

Draco shrugged. "Wouldn't know. He hasn't said a word to me since the World Cup."

Everyone stayed quiet for a while.

"I'm sorry. This is all my fault," Theo said. "I forced you into this situation."

"No, it's okay. Really. It would have happened sooner or later anyhow. I… had just hoped it would be later."

"I'm sure he'll come around," Hermione tried to console him.

"I highly doubt that," Draco muttered, his voice wavering. Any coming around would probably only last as long as Draco managed to not get involved in anti-Death Eater business. Judging by how the previous year had gone and what had happened during the summer holidays, he doubted he would be able to stay clear of such things. Sticking to his resolution to not draw any attention to his person, which he had made upon his arrival in the past, had spectacularly failed. Draco just hoped he would get a few more peaceful moments with his family before they would undoubtedly abandon him.

"I'm sorry," Harry suddenly said.

"Whatever for?"

"Telling you to choose a side as if it were easy. I never thought about what this would mean for you. Or you, Theo. It is easy for us, with our families not being on the other side…"

Hermione nodded in agreement. "Me too. As a muggleborn, choosing a side has never been an issue. And my family... I do realize that you and Theo have more to lose than us even by simply stating an opinion."

They didn't say anything for a while but soon began talking again. About other things. Trying to forget what had happened during the summer.

* * *

 

In the Great Hall, Draco sat between Theo and Daphne. Zabini and Tracey soon sat down opposite of them. Crabbe, Goyle and Millicent stood a few feet away, sneering at Theo.

Pansy walked in and examined the situations. "Oh, don't be such assholes," she told Crabbe, Goyle and Millicent and sat down next to Tracey. "You were perfectly friendly with him last year."

"Last year we still thought he was one of us," hissed Millicent.

"One of us? This is not the seventies. There is no war and there are no sides."

"Ha," huffed Goyle. "You wish. The Dark Lord will be back. Sooner than you think."

"Hmm, maybe," agreed Pansy. "But not today. So, sit down and  _cut the crap_ ," Pansy growled.

"You say that now," said Crabbe, but sat down anyway. He was soon followed by the others.

The tension was palpable. No one said anything, but it was clear that Crabbe, Goyle, Millicent and many of the other year Slytherins disapproved of Theo's actions.

"As ever, I would like to remind you all that the forest on the grounds is out-of-bounds to students, as is the village of Hogsmeade to all below third year…"

Dumbledore had started his speech and Draco turned his attention away from his table and looked at the stuff table instead. What he saw, made his blood freeze. "No, no, no. This can't be true," he mumbled.

"We are pleased to welcome a new member of staff this year. Professor Slughorn" – Slughorn stood up, his bald head gleaming in the candellight, his big waist-coated belly casting the table below into shadow – "is a former colleague of mine who has agreed to resume his old post of Potions master."

"Potions?" The question echoed all over the Hall as people wondered whether they had heard right.

"Professor Snape, meanwhile," continued Dumbledore, ignoring the chatter amongst the students, "will be taking over the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

First, everything was quiet. Then, a thunderous applause erupted from the Slytherin table. Everyone cheered. Everyone but Draco, who stared at the headmaster with an open mouth. The dread and shock soon changed into fury. How could Dumbledore do this? Didn't he know what usually happened to the DADA teachers?

The headmaster waited for the Slytherins to calm down. "It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year."

"What?" Draco could hear several people gasp.

"This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy – but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year, we are to have the honor of hosting a very exciting event that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."

Everyone was quiet for a while.

"You're JOKING!" Draco could hear one of the Weasley twins yell.

People started to laugh, and Dumbledore chuckled appreciatively.

"I am not joking, Mr. Weasley," he said, "though now that you mention it, I did hear an excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag and a leprechaun who all go into a bar…"

McGonagall cleared her throat loudly.

"Er – but maybe this is not the time… no…" said Dumbledore, "where was I? Ah yes, the Triwizard Tournament…"

Draco stopped listening, he already knew all of this.

Snape, Defense teacher? Draco was still rather upset about that. Defense teachers had the habit of dying at the end of the year, so what was Dumbledore thinking? They needed Snape.  _Alive_. And Dumbledore had promised he would do anything in his power to keep him alive. And this was the exact opposite of keeping him safe.

"Wish I could have gone to Durmstrang," Crabbe's complaint pulled Draco out of his musing. "Loads better than Hogwarts." Apparently, the revelations of the night had made him forget their disagreement momentarily.

"I heard they teach the Dark Arts," whispered Tracey.

"And don't allow mudbloods," grinned Goyle, an evil glint in his eyes.

Tracey just glared at him.

"My father wanted to send me there," Draco admitted.

"Why didn't he?" asked Pansy.

"Mother wouldn't let him. Wanted to keep me close, I guess."

"Tough luck," grumbled Goyle.

"I wouldn't say so," said Draco. "Wouldn't know you guys if I'd gone to Durmstrang."

"Awww, Draco," fawned Pansy.

"That was disgustingly sweet," laughed Daphne and Draco just grinned. Goyle looked disgusted but amused.

"I'm going for it!" Crabbe announced with enthusiasm. "I'll be the Hogwarts champion."

"Didn't you listen?" Daphne asked. "You got to be of age to enter."

"Never heard of aging potions?"

"As if you are capable enough to brew one," muttered Pansy, rolling her eyes.

They kept discussing the tournament, but Draco was only half listening, lost in thought. And the more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

* * *

As soon as the feast was over, Draco stormed into Dumbledore's office.

"Why?" Draco yelled. "Are you out of your damn mind? Why the bloody hell would you do that?"

"Good evening, Draco," greeted Dumbledore, ignoring the outbreak.

"Are you trying to kill him? Do you not care at all?."

"Have a cup of tea and take a deep breath. Then we may talk about what is bothering you."

"You- he- argh-" Draco wanted to argue some more, but knew it was pointless.

With a sigh he slumped into the seat across from Dumbledore and grabbed the cup of tea that was already waiting for him.

After a few sips he had calmed down somewhat.

"Why did you make Professor Snape the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?"

"I felt he was the best man for the job. I thought you of all people would be happy with my choice."

"Well, I would be if the position weren't jinxed. I don't want him to die at the end of the year."

"A sentiment I share with you. I will do my best to prevent this. Unfortunately, things are progressing faster than they did in your memories."

"What do you mean?" That did not sound good.

"The World Cup, for example. It didn't happen the way you remember it, did it?"

Draco stayed quiet for a while. "No. It was worse. Way worse. Things seemed better organized. There were more Death Eaters and they were more violent."

"Tell me, Draco, has your father had any meeting with other Death Eaters?"

Draco thought back to the day of Sirius' party. His father had a couple of old friends over. "Yes. But you should already know that. Severus was there as well."

Dumbledore nodded his head. "I am afraid they have started recruiting again."

Draco jumped out of his chair. "What?! That's impossible. The Dark Lord isn't even back yet!"

"They seem to be aware of the fact that someone is trying to bring Voldemort back."

"But- they-" Draco slumped back into his chair. "They weren't aware the first time this happened. Nobody knew he would return. On neither side."

"Things have changed," Dumbledore said calmly.

"You mean I have changed things. I'm making everything worse!"

"Now, now. That is not true," the headmaster said gently.

"Of course it's true! It's my fault the Death Eaters are recruiting already. It is my fault, Mr. Nott got arrested and Theo disowned and quasi orphaned and is now shunned by everyone!"

Dumbledore looked at Draco with a kind smile. "Did you tell Mr. Nott to stand up to his father?"

"No, but- Well, I told him not to do anything, to keep his head down, but he didn't listen."

"So, is it your fault then that he did try to stop his father?"

"He didn't do it originally and I am the only thing that is different, so yes," Draco growled.

"No." Dumbledore's answer surprised Draco. "You did not tell him what to do. You simply gave him a choice. You gave him a choice he did not have in the original timeline."

"What?"

"By being his friend and showing him another way, you showed him an option and gave him the strength to choose what he felt was right instead of letting his fear decide his path." Dumbledore gave Draco some time to digest that. "Not everything bad that happens from now on is your fault. People still make their own decisions. You did not force anyone's hand. Originally, Mr. Nott only had one feasible option available to him. You showed him a second one, but the decision was still his to make. Do you understand this?"

Draco gave this some thought. He felt infinitely lighter. "Yes, I think I do."

"Very well then. As I said, things happen faster but that does not necessarily mean that they are worse. A lot of the changes have been good. Sirius Black would be one such example. Alastor Moody would be another. We could prevent his attack. Unfortunately, the perpetrators got away. Still, you saved him from a year-long imprisonment."

"But why not make him our Defense teacher?" Draco asked, returning to the original reason why he had come to Dumbledore.

"I fear he will be otherwise occupied this year."

"You think there will be Death Eater attacks? Before his return?"

"There most likely will be. In any case, the students, now more than ever, need a capable and invested Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

"Alright, I guess I can see your point. I just don't want him to die again," Draco sighed.

"I will do everything I can to prevent such a fate," assured Dumbledore. "How are the other students reacting to Mr. Nott's decision?"

Draco thought this over. "Daphne and I are on his side. Tracey is a half-blood, so I'm pretty sure she loves these new developments. Zabini has always been neutral. Pansy is opportunistic. She will support whoever she benefits most from. Millicent, Crabbe and Goyle, however... They made it clear that they do not approve. And by the way some of the others looked at us today... But Slytherins are not all Death Eaters in the making, you know. Many of them fought on our side during the last battle. We are just not as open about who we support as some of the other houses are." Many might have been a bit of an overstatement. But Draco knew there had been a few Slytherins who fought against the Death Eaters in the final battle.

Dumbledore smiled. "This is good to know. Severus is talking to your housemates this very second, telling them about the importance of house unity and that any attacks against housemates will not be tolerated. If anything happens, let me know."

"Thank you, headmaster."

"The war will start and end a lot sooner than you remember, I assume. And you have given our side a lot to work with."

At that, Draco jerked up. "Uh- I almost forgot!" He started rummaging through his pockets and pulled out the cup. "I – uhm – borrowed this out of my aunt's vault." He put the cup on the desk in front of him. "Do you think that might be one of  _them_?"

Dumbledore leaned forward, examining the cup. "Do you know what this is?" he finally asked.

"A cup?" Draco asked, confused. He hated it when Dumbledore answered questions with questions.

"Not just any cup," Dumbledore said, his eyes gleaming.

Draco took a closer look at the cup. His eyes fell on the badger. "A Hufflepuff cup? Wait- Is this a cup from Helga Hufflepuff?"

When Dumbledore nodded, Draco knew that it was indeed a Horcrux that he was looking at.

"How do we destroy it?"

Dumbledore looked at him. "I think, before I answer this, we should have a word with Harry Potter."

* * *

 

Dumbledore had called McGonagall through the Floo.

"Good evening, Minerva. Could you please fetch Mr. Potter?" Dumbledore said without much preamble.

"He is not in trouble, is he?" she asked, looking at Draco, who glared back at her.

"Oh no. Don't worry. I'd just like to talk to him."

McGonagall disappeared in the Floo.

"Do we really need him for this?" Draco asked.

"I believe we do."

"Is this because of that stupid prophecy? I'm pretty sure it doesn't mean that he is the only one who can defeat him."

Dumbledore looked at him warningly. "There are certain things that only he can do. When the time comes, you will understand this. Maybe today's task is one we could fulfill on our own, but the next one might not be and then he will need the knowledge and experience he will acquire today to complete it."

"Fine," Draco huffed, still not entirely convinced. The world was a pretty big place - there had to be more than one person able to stop the crazy lunatic.

The fire in the fireplace flared up and suddenly there were no longer two, but three people in the room.

"You called for me, sir?" asked Potter, glancing in Draco's direction.

"Ah, Mr. Potter. What a pleasure to see you."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Can we cut the pleasantries and get to the point?"

Dumbledore looked amused. "Patience is a virtue, Mr. Malfoy."

Draco crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair.

"Harry," Dumbledore addressed him by his first name, "it has come to my attention, that Voldemort's followers are reforming and working towards bringing their master back."

Harry gasped and looked at Draco.

"Don't look at me," Draco raised his arms in front of him, "I didn't have anything to do with this."

"Voldemort has done unspeakable things to ensure his immortality. Mr. Malfoy is helping us work towards making him mortal again." Dumbledore let that sink in.

Harry looked rather pale.

Draco then watched as Dumbledore explained what Voldemort had done and what Horcruxes were. Draco watched in mild amusement how Harry's expression changed from shocked to disgusted to completely appalled.

Then Dumbledore showed both of them a memory form Slughorn. Draco got to see a boy named Tom Riddle asking about Horcruxes. Dumbledore explained how Harry needed to get the real memory. Draco didn't quite get why they were doing all of this, but kept quiet. Dumbledore probably had his reasons.

"What's he got to do with it?" Harry finally asked, motioning his head towards Draco.

"We suspected a Horcrux in the Gringott's vault of Mr. Malfoy's aunt."

Draco reached for the cup on the desk. "Funny, how harmless it looks. It doesn't look like a piece of the evil soul of a psychopath." He threw it in the air and caught it again.

"That's- that's one?" Harry asked, flabbergasted.

"Yep, which leads us, again to the question: How do we destroy it?" Draco looked at Dumbledore. He was growing impatient. He had first asked this question more than an hour ago and had yet to receive anything that resembled an answer. 

Once more, Dumbledore did not answer the question. Instead, he pulled a torn book out of a drawer in his desk.

"The diary?" Harry asked.

"What diary?" asked Draco. Things were making less and not more sense.

"Tom Riddle's diary," said Potter, as if it would explain anything. "In our second year, the diary possessed Ginny and made her open the Chamber of Secrets. It was the diary of Tom Riddle, who you know as Lord Voldemort."

"Riddle isn't a wizard's name," Draco mused.

Potter grinned. "He's a halfbood. His father was a muggle."

Draco coughed a few times.

Potter turned from Draco to Dumbledore. "Is the diary a Horcrux, too?"

"I believe so," he smiled.

"So, you have already destroyed one?" asked Draco. "How did you do it?"

"Uhm- a Basilisk Fang."

Draco stared at Potter, mouth agape. "How do you always end up in situations like that?"

Potter just shrugged his shoulders.

"We can't use a basilisk… or can we?" Draco looked at Dumbledore.

"Fortunately, we don't have to."

Dumbledore walked to a glass case and took a sword out of it.

"The sword of Gryffindor," exhaled Harry.

"The what?" Draco asked. This was getting annoying.

"The sword of Godric Gryffindor," Harry repeated. "I used it to slay Slytherin's basilisk back in second year."

"You slayed a basilisk?" Draco asked. "The basilisk of Salazar Slytherin?"

Harry smiled at him apologetically.

"It only shows itself to worthy Gryffindors," Dumbledore explained and Draco rolled his eyes, "and imbibes substances which strengthen it."

"So, one of you  _worthy_  Gryffindors can use it to destroy the cup?" Draco asked. "Let's try it."

Dumbledore gave Harry the sword and nodded at him encouragingly.

Harry took the sword and stood in front of Draco, who was still holding the cup. Harry slowly raised the sword and Draco saw how it shimmered in the light of the candles that lit Dumbledore's office.

Suddenly, Draco felt rage overcome him and fill every fiber of his being. How dare Potter take this task away from him when it was Draco who had done all the work? But that's what Potter always did. He let other people do his dirty work. Used them as human shields. It was his fault that Draco's father hated him now. And his fault that Crabbe and Goyle had died during the Battle of Hogwarts. His fault.

He raised his wand and pointed it right at Potter's heart.

"Uhm- Draco? What are you doing?"

"You," Draco growled. He was seething. "This is all your fault! All your fault!"

Potter took a few steps back and Dumbledore got up from his chair.

"You think you are all that but you're not. Chosen one, pah!" Draco spat. "Murderer, that's what you are. A bloody murderer. Killed your own parents. And a coward. And the son of a filthy mudblood."

"Mr. Malfoy," chided Dumbledore, who was now walking around his desk, wand in his hand.

"Shut up, Malfoy," growled Potter, growing agitated.

"No, you shut up! It's always about you! Those mudblood and blood-traitor friends of yours don't even like you. They just want a piece of your undeserved fame! Crucio!"

Potter dropped the sword and dove out of the way and the curse missed him by a few inches.

Draco turned towards Dumbledore. "Avada K-" but his wand flew out of his hand.

"Mr. Malfoy," the warning voice of the headmaster boomed.

But Draco didn't listen, he threw himself onto Potter, punching him and hitting him in the face with the cup.

Then, everything turned black.

* * *

When Draco opened his eyes again, he first felt disoriented. But soon he realized that he was in the infirmary. The anger was gone and instead he felt miserable and lonely.

He looked around and noticed Harry Potter standing next to his bed.

Draco groaned and buried his face in his hands. The memories of what he had done came rushing back to him and his face burned in guilt and shame.

"I didn't really try to kill Albus Dumbledore, did I?" he muttered, and mentally added an "again" to his sentence.

Harry chuckled. "I think that's what you were going for."

Draco groaned and sat up to look at Harry. "Aren't you mad at me?"

"Not really. You broke my nose, by the way. Madame Pomfrey healed it, though."

"I am so sorry. For everything. I swear I don't know why I said any of that."

"It's okay. Really. I think it was the cup. The book made Ginny do things she would never do under normal circumstances, too. If I'm not mad at her for trying to kill me, it would be pretty unfair to be mad at you."

Draco sunk back into his pillow. "What happened?"

"I took the sword to destroy the cup, which you were holding. Suddenly you went totally bonkers. Said a few horrible things and then attacked me and then Dumbledore. Dumbledore disarmed you, so you decided to kill me the muggle way instead-"

"God, don't say it like that!" Draco interrupted, blushing.

"Just telling it how it is," laughed Harry. "Like I said, you broke my nose with that stupid cup. Dumbledore stunned you and we had to wrestle the cup out of your hands because even unconscious you wouldn't let go of it and spells didn't work either. Then I destroyed the cup with the sword. It was really weird. It was screaming and bleeding…"

"And then Dumbledore brought us here?"

Harry nodded his head. "Really hoped this would be a year without any visits to the infirmary."

"Ha, dream on, Potter. That'll never happen."

"Yeah, I came to the same conclusion," he sighed. "So, you are on our side, now?"

Draco shrugged. "I guess."

"What changed your mind?"

Draco took a deep breath. "I can't really tell you. Maybe one day, but not today."

Harry's face fell. "That's okay. It's good that you've changed your mind, though."

Draco nodded his head.

"Uhm- I gotta leave now. It's almost time for Herbology…"

"What?!" Draco jumped out of bed.

"Yeah, you kind of spent the whole night here," Harry said apologetically. "See you around."

With that, Potter left. "See you around?" Draco mused. Since when did Potter want to see him around? Especially after he had just broken his nose?

A few minutes later, Daphne, Astoria, Theo and Neville walked into the infirmary.

"Oh my god, it is true," laughed Daphne, "first day back and you're already in the infirmary."

Astoria elbowed her older sister. "Be nice. He got hurt."

"What happened?" asked Neville.

"Aren't you supposed to have Herbology right now?" Draco asked with a raised eyebrow.

Neville shrugged his shoulders. "Like you said last year, Sprout likes me, she won't mind. And we're only doing Bubotubers today." He wrinkled his nose.

Theo laughed. "Damn. We must be even worse of an influence than I thought."

"You guys having a free period?" he asked the others and they nodded their heads.

"Now tell us what happened," urged Daphne.

"Uhm," Draco fidgeted, "I'm not sure Dumbledore wants me to tell anyone."

"Dumbledore," gasped Astoria. "What are you doing with Dumbledore?"

"Ehm-" Draco didn't know what he was supposed to say.

"He doesn't have to tell us if he doesn't want to," said Neville.

"Spoil-sport," complained Theo.

"You can trust us," said Daphne. "We can keep a secret. We didn't tell anyone about Black either."

"Are you helping him do something about You-Know-Who?" asked Theo.

Draco looked alarmed.

"He's dead, why would they be doing something about him?" asked Daphne.

"I've heard rumors… And with what Goyle said today about  _Him_  returning…"

"He'll be back?" asked Astoria.

"Shhh, be quiet, guys," whispered Draco. "Yes. Dumbledore thinks He'll return. Pretty soon, too."

He reached for his wand and cast a privacy charm - one never knew.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god," Daphne jumped from one foot to the other. "And you're doing something about it?"

"He… He has done something that makes him immortal. We are trying to undo that. Hopefully, by the time he does return, he will be mortal again. But guys, you have to keep this to yourself. Not a word to anyone."

"Of course not," piped Astoria and the others nodded in agreement.

"Can we help?" asked Theo.

"Maybe. But not right now. I'll let you know."

That was enough for them. For now. He was sure that soon they would want to know more.

They spent some time just talking until Madame Pomfrey let Draco leave with them for the second period of that day - Care of Magical Creatures.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new school year begins and the hunt for the Horcruxes continues.

"You did what?!" gasped Neville.

Draco looked around. Once the horrible Care of Magical Creatures lesson was over and they had tended their injuries from the Blast-Ended Skrewts, Neville had asked Draco what had really happened with Dumbledore and Potter. They were currently in an empty classroom. Draco had cast a Muffliato, but still looked around to make sure no one was around.

"I broke Potter's nose," Draco mumbled. "And tried to kill Dumbledore."

Neville stared at him, mouth agape. "You- You-"

"Yeah, I know," muttered Draco. He had told Neville everything. About his summer. About Horcruxes. About his trip to Gringotts. And about the cup taking control of him and his subsequent attempt to murder Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore. Seeing that Neville already knew about the time travel, he didn't really see a reason not to tell him about the Horcruxes as well. "They are both fine, though. It's not like I'd stand a chance against Dumbledore, possessed or not." Unless, of course, Dumbledore wanted to die again and Draco let Death Eaters into the school. But what were the chances of that happening again?

"Wow," Neville buried his face in his hands. "But hey - that means two Horcruxes are destroyed already. How many more can there be?"

Draco gave this some thought. "Not too many, I suppose. They're not exactly easy to make. And the Dark Lord has been gone for years so he can't have made any new ones in the last 13 years. But I know of at least one more. It's at Hogwarts, actually."

"What? Where?" Neville looked alarmed.

"In the Room of Hidden Things. It's a tiara. But calm down, Nev. We're save and I'm not in any rush to repeat what happened yesterday," Draco said.

"But we have to destroy it," Neville persisted.

Draco looked at Neville. It amazed him just how different he was from the original 14-year-old Neville. This new Neville was active and brave. More like his older, post-war self. "We don't have time for that now. Our next lesson will start soon and I really don't want Snape thinking I'm helping a serial killer or anything like that again, just because I'm late to my lessons... But we could try it on Saturday? Is that good enough for you?"

Neville nodded his head. "I guess. So,  _You-Know-Who_  is really coming back?"

Draco didn't say anything for a while. Then he nodded his head. "Yes. By the end of the year, I suppose. Unless my messing with the time line has changed his plans." Which wasn't all that unlikely, he had to admit. Pettigrew had escaped several months before he originally did. If he'd also found the Dark Lord sooner, then that could mean that he'd had more time to plan. And the events at the Quidditch World Cup had shown him that things were indeed happening faster. "But Dumbledore said they still attacked Moody and the Triwizard Tournament is still happening, so I don't think his plan has changed much, if it has changed at all."

Neville considered this. "So he will come back? And we can't stop that. But with your knowledge, we can bring him down much faster, right?" Neville asked hopefully.

"I don't know. We know about the Horcruxes and we are destroying them so that's a huge advantage. And Dumbledore seems hopeful. But things are different now. The Death Eaters are already becoming active. Moody, although he wasn't the real one, isn't teaching us. He was the one who brought the Dark Lord back, so I don't know what their plan is now…"

No one said anything for a while. "You said they killed Cedric this year?" Neville finally asked.

Draco nodded his head.

"We should stop him from entering his name," Neville said.

That was something Draco hadn't thought about yet.

"I know things might already be so different that he won't die, but if we know about the possible death of someone and are able to do something about it, I think we are obliged to do everything in our power to stop it," Neville continued.

Draco's mind was racing. Maybe saving Cedric would kill someone else instead. Maybe he wouldn't die anyways. But if he didn't die then another champion wouldn't die either, so nothing was lost. It was unlikely that another champion would end up in the same situation Potter and Diggory had. Only a Hufflepuff would share the victory, thus ending up in the graveyard together. Draco's head was spinning. But then another thought hit him: Cedric's father was the reason why his son had almost died traveling through time.

"Let's do it," he said. If stopping Cedric meant that there was a slight chance his son would not get into trouble in the future, then he was willing to risk it. "The students who want to participate need to put their names into a goblet at the end of October, as far as I remember. So, we still have some time to figure out how exactly we're going to do it."

Neville nodded his head. "I think we ought to go now, Divination is starting in a couple of minutes."

Draco laughed. "You should have dropped that. It's the most useless subject ever taught at Hogwarts."

"Now that I know you, though, I think my homework will get a lot more accurate," Neville chuckled. Draco noted how he didn't contradict him on the usefulness of Divination.

"Well, I have Arithmancy next. A bit more useful, I would say. Oh, I almost forgot," Draco rummaged through his bag and pulled out a few books. "Here. Stole them from my father's library. Some of them are on healing and some on the Cruciatus. Might help us with your parents."

Neville smiled at him. "Thanks."

* * *

After Arithmancy, Snape called Draco into his office.

"Sir?" Draco asked when he entered the office.

"Ah Draco. It is good to see you. Have a seat."

Draco nodded and sat down.

"I have heard you spent your first night back at Hogwarts in the infirmary?" Snape inquired.

"Y-yes," Draco had no idea how to explain this without talking about the Horcruxes.

"I hope everything is alright now," continued his godfather, studying Draco.

"Peachy," Draco smiled but knew it probably looked forced. "Congratulations on becoming the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," Draco said, changing the topic.

Snape scrutinized Draco, but then smiled. "Thank you. It's long been an ambition of mine."

"I'm sure you'll be excellent at it."

"I do hope so, too," his smile faded. "You are not in any kind of trouble again, are you?" he asked.

Draco should have known changing topics wouldn't work for long. "No trouble, sir."

Snape sighed, seemingly annoyed with the lack of response from Draco. "The headmaster wants to speak with you." Draco stiffened. "You wouldn't happen to know why?"

"No idea," Draco lied.

Snape narrowed his eyes. "If you leave for his office now, you might make it back before curfew. If not," he handed Draco a piece of parchment, "this will excuse you should you run into any Professors or Mr. Filch."

"Thank you," Draco said and felt bad for all the lies he had to tell.

Snape looked like he wanted to say more, but ultimately just dismissed Draco.

* * *

"Headmaster?" Draco entered the office without much trouble. The stone gargoyle had just jumped aside when Draco approached.

"Mr. Malfoy, please, have a seat," said the headmaster once he saw Draco.

"I-I'm sorry for what happened yesterday. I really don't know what came over me," Draco mumbled, not looking into the headmaster's eyes, as he sat down.

"You have nothing to apologize for," said Dumbledore kindly. "Indeed, I feel like it is me who should apologize to you."

Draco's head perked up. "But you didn't do anything."

"I should have anticipated that the Horcrux would defend itself," Dumbledore continued. "Neither you nor Mr. Potter should have spent your first day back at the castle in the Hospital Wing."

Draco shrugged his shoulders. "Is it gone now?" he asked.

"Yes," smiled the headmaster.

"I'll get the diadem on Saturday," Draco said, deciding to be open about it. "I know where it is and how to get it."

"Why such a hurry?"

"The sooner we get rid of these vile things, the better," grumbled Draco.

Dumbledore nodded his head. "Bring it to me once you have it and be sure not to touch it."

Draco nodded. Dumbledore seemed to trust him, which was a surprisingly good feeling.

* * *

The next days were rather uneventful. Slughorn started his Potions lesson the same way he had in Draco's sixth year, just with easier potions. Again, they had to guess which potions the Professor was presenting them with and then brew a potion. The best potion, again, won a Felix Felicis – also called Liquid Luck. Draco really wanted the Felix Felicis, but also knew that it wouldn't be fair to take it away from Potter, who had won it originally and probably needed it to complete his task for Dumbledore.

The potion they had to brew was annoyingly easy – a Shrinking Solution. Snape had given them an essay about it during the summer holidays between their second and third year and had then have the students brew it at the beginning of their third year. Draco had had an excellent essay, having met Snape during that summer. Snape had told him of his own version of the potion, which was quite different from the school book version. Draco had also practiced the Shrinking Solution with Neville several times so Snape wouldn't have to threaten him with poisoning his toad again. It had worked, too, Snape hadn't found anything to criticize about Neville's potion.

Draco decided to brew the potion how it was described in the potions book instead of using Snape's improved version. He probably shouldn't meddle with time unnecessarily anyway. And Potter or maybe Granger would win the potion and probably save the day with it.

His potion turned out alright, not the exact acid green color Draco knew it should have, but close enough to have the promised effect and not kill the person drinking it.

"Time is up," called Slughorn, nearing the end of the lesson. "Stop stirring, please!"

He walked around the classroom, looking at the potions of his students and smelled some of them.

"Well done," he murmured once he saw Draco's potion, and gave him an appreciative nod.

Granger's potion also got an approving nod. But then, Slughorn's face was filled with incredulous delight.

"The clear winner!" exclaimed Slughorn and Draco nearly knocked over his cauldron when he realized, who Slughorn meant. "Excellent, excellent, Mr. Longbottom. Good lord, I have never seen such a perfect potion before. Here you are, then, here you are – one bottle of Felix Felicis. Just as promised. Use it well."

Neville looked dumbfounded and the looks on the faces of the others in the classroom weren't any better.

Draco flashed Neville a smile, but felt rather overwhelmed by the whole experience.

* * *

Draco was rather excited for their first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson with Snape, which they had a few days later. The first thing he noticed was that he shared this class with the Gryffindors. He was pretty sure that hadn't been the case originally. He also noticed that there were no tables or chairs in the classroom, so all the students stood around Snape, who was standing in the middle of the classroom.

Snape started the lesson, not unlike Slughorn, similar to how he had started it in Draco's sixth year.

"The Dark Arts," said Snape, "are many, varied, ever-changing, and eternal. Fighting them is like fighting a many-headed monster, which, each time a neck is severed, sprouts a head even fiercer and cleverer than before. You are fighting that which is unfixed, mutating, indestructible. Your defenses must therefore be as flexible and inventive as the arts you seek to undo."

Snape seemed to be in a good mood. But then again, teaching DADA had always been his dream. And the students were more eager to learn about this subject than about Potions.

Snape proceeded to show them pictures of what horrible things the Dark Arts could do.

"Your previous teachers have done little to prepare you for the harsh reality of fighting the effects of the Dark Arts and defending yourself. We will change this. You won't need your books in this class as we will focus mainly on practical application."

The class was mesmerized by his speech. Surprisingly, even the Gryffindors seemed excited.

"Who in here can tell me something about the Protego charm?"

Granger's hand shot into the air. Snape took his time looking around at everybody else, checking if anyone else knew the answer. Finally, Theo raised his hand.

"Mr. Nott?"

"They create a magical barrier to deflect spells, in order to protect a certain person or area, sir."

"Very well. Five points to Slytherin. Who knows how many forms Protego has?"

This time, Granger's hand stayed the only one that was raised. "Very well – Miss Granger?"

"There are five forms. Protego, Duo, Horribilis, Totalum and Maxima."

It was a sign of just how good his mood must have been, that he gave five points to Gryffindor as well. "Does anyone know how to perform any of these varieties?"

When no one raised his hand, Theo said, "Draco does, Professor."

Draco glared at Theo and Snape raised an eyebrow. "Indeed? Would you be willing to share your expertise with the class?"

Draco wasn't keen on demonstrating just how beyond everyone else his knowledge was - really, he could cast a nonverbal shield charm in his sleep at this point. But he didn't have much of a choice.

"Sure," Draco smiled. "Who wants to attack me?" When no one answered, he continued, "Oh, come on. I'm sure some of you are dying to curse me into the next century."

"I'll do it," said Theo.

"Ok, throw your strongest curse at me," said Draco, getting into a fighting position.

"Alright," said Theo, grinning. "Petrificus Totalus!" he shouted without warning.

"Protego," yelled Draco, waving his wand in front of him. The white light from Theo's wand clashed into an invisible wall with a loud pang, briefly illuminating the whole room. The light bounced of the wall and back into Theo, who, with a yelp, flew several feet backwards, ending up in a Full Body-Bind himself.

Snape waved his wand, freeing Theo from the curse. "Well done," he smiled. "Ten points to Slytherin."

The others looked at Draco in astonishment.

"Anyone else wants a go?" asked Draco and was only met with shaking heads.

"As you have seen," continued Snape, "the incantation is  _Protego_  and the wand movement is a straight line," this he indicated with his own wand. "You will now divide into pairs. One partner will attempt to jinx the other. The other will attempt to block the attack. Carry on."

Draco practiced with Theo.

Typically, ten minutes into the lesson, Granger was able to block all of Neville's spells. With a little help from Draco, Theo was too, soon after.

"Miss Granger, Mr. Nott and Mr. Malfoy," Snape called, twenty minutes into the lesson. "I would like you three to partner up, as you seem to be ahead of your fellow classmates. Practice on each other. If you find the task too easy, try using the other forms of the spell or try casting nonverbally." He then went to help those who were still struggling with the basic charm.

"Wow," muttered Granger after five minutes of fighting Draco and Theo and actually having fun. "He is actually a pretty decent Defense teacher."

"Did you ever doubt that? Locomotor Wibbly!" asked Theo, mockingly, throwing a Jelly-Legs-Jinx her way.

"Protego Duo! Well, in Potions I never had the feeling that he actually wanted us to succeed," she said, blocking the jinx.

Another five minutes later, Potter was deemed good enough by Snape to join them.

"Hey, Granger," said Draco. "Fancy a duel? Just for fun, of course." When she looked at him uncertainly, he added, "and to practice our shields."

He was a bit bored by lazily throwing jinxes at the others and Granger was the best witch in the class.

"Alright," she said, still unsure of herself. She bowed to Draco.

Draco also bowed and grinned evilly.

"Colloshoo!" yelled Hermione.

"Protego!" the hex hit Draco's shield charm. "Titillando!" Draco yelled.

"Protego Duo!" Hermione cried, and the purple light hit the shield charm violently and bounced back, hitting Theo, who fell to the ground laughing. "Wingardium Leviosa," shouted Hermione and Draco felt how he grew lighter, soon floating in the air.

"Protego!" he roared, falling back on the ground. "Confringo!"

"Protego! Incarcerous!"

Draco deflected the spell and it hit Potter, who ended up on the floor, bound and gagged, next to the still laughing Theo.

"Harry!" shrieked Hermione and Draco, exploiting the distraction, cast "Expelliarmus!".

The scarlet light hit Hermione and her wand flew into Draco's hand.

Draco looked around. Everyone had stopped practicing to watch their fight.

Snape waved his wand to free Potter and Theo from the spells that had accidentally been cast on them. Draco was sure that Snape would kill them, but he just said, "10 points to each of you, for the display of excellent dueling skills."

The class applauded, and Draco handed Hermione her wand back.

"That was fun," she conceded.

Draco grinned. It looked like this year DADA might actually be fun.

* * *

The week passed by quickly. On Saturday morning, Draco didn't even get to finish his breakfast before Neville stood by his side. He obviously hadn't forgotten about Draco's promise to retrieve the Horcrux.

"I've thought about it," started Neville quietly so no one would hear while Draco ate his porridge. "Should we ask Harry to join us?"

Draco nearly choked. "What?" he asked between coughs, "Why?"

Neville fidgeted. "Well, Dumbledore told you that he should know about these things. And we'll need him to destroy it anyway."

Draco knew that Neville was right. That didn't mean he had to like it, though. Reluctantly, he nodded his head and Neville hurried back to his own table, to talk to Potter, no doubt.

Draco finished his porridge, enjoying the few minutes of relaxation he had left. He expected the task of finding the diadem to be dreadfully boring. He knew what a junkyard the Room of Hidden Things was. Looking for the blasted diadem would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Perhaps bringing Harry along wasn't such a terrible idea, they'd at least be able to cover more ground and perhaps find it faster. 

"Morning Draco," he turned around again and saw Astoria standing behind him. The sight of her always brightened his day. "Daphne and I were wondering whether you'd want to spend the day by the lake with us?" she asked hopefully.

Draco frowned. This reminded him far too much of the day they had asked him to go to the Quidditch match with them. "Uhm, sure. But maybe later. I have to take care of something first."

"And what would that be?" asked Daphne, who was now standing beside her sister, her arms crossed and an eyebrow raised.

"Uh… nothing important."

"So, you can postpone it?"

Draco held Daphne's gaze. "No."

Astoria frowned. "Are you and Neville up to something again?"

Draco's lack of a response seemed answer enough for them.

"Oh, come on," Daphne said. "Not again. You tried to keep us out of the loop last time and see where that led. You need our help."

Draco sighed. There really was no keeping secrets from them. "It might be dangerous." He didn't really believe the retrieval of some jewelry was all that dangerous. Not if none of them touched it. But they'd want to know why he was looking for a girly crown. And telling them of Horcruxes - that could indeed be dangerous. 

"All the more reason for us to help," said Daphne, and it sounded final.

It was then that Neville joined them again, followed by the Golden Trio.

"Really?" Daphne huffed. "You're telling them but not us?"

"I didn't tell anyone! Neville!"

"I'm sorry. They wouldn't let Harry go on his own," he eyed Daphne and Astoria.

"Are they," Harry indicated his head towards the two girls, "joining us, too?"

"Yes," answered Daphne defiantly, "got a problem with that?"

"Uhm- no?" said Harry.

Draco sighed. This wasn't at all what he had envisioned. "Fine, let's go."

While leading all of them to the seventh floor, he explained what they were searching for. "We're looking for a diadem-"

"Sorry, but what IS a diadem?" asked Ron Weasley.

"It's a type of crown," supplied Daphne, "like a tiara."

"Uhm, yeah," said Draco. "It's silver with a blue sapphire on it."

"Wait a second," said Astoria, "are you talking about the Lost Diadem of Ravenclaw?"

Draco stopped and looked at Astoria. He hadn't known that it was Ravenclaw's but since the cup had belonged to Hufflepuff, it made sense. Now that Draco thought about it, he couldn't picture the Dark Lord just randomly choosing a diadem for his Horcruxes. He wasn't one to wear jewelry - Draco almost chuckled at the thought of Voldemort wearing a tiara. "How do you know?"

"Well, I  _am_  a Ravenclaw," she shrugged her shoulders. "It's supposed to give its wearer wisdom. But it has been lost for centuries."

"Hmmm, I think we'll change that," smirked Draco.

"And why are we doing this?" asked Daphne. That was exactly the question Draco had hoped she would not ask. 

"It's a dangerous piece of dark magic. We need to destroy it." That was all he was willing to tell them. Harry looked at Draco knowingly.

"And where is it?" asked Hermione.

"Ever heard of the Room of Requirement?" Draco asked. "It's a room that appears only if you really need it and can take whichever form you need."

"Isn't that just a myth?"

They had reached the left corridor on the seventh floor.

"You tell me," said Draco, walking up and down the corridor, thinking about the Room of Hidden Things and the Diadem.

He could hear the others gasped when the door appeared. "Okay. Let's go in. Look for the Diadem, but  _don't touch it_ , when you see it." He opened the door.

"Oh my," gasped Hermione, "it will take us ages to look through all of this stuff!" She looked, rather horrified, at the maze of hidden things.

"Can't we just summon it?" asked Astoria.

"Sadly, that doesn't work," breathed Draco. "But we're 7 people. We should be able to find it."

"Let's split up, then," suggested Weasley and the others agreed. Draco went with Neville, Daphne with her sister and the golden trio went together.

"Have you seen that thing before?" asked Neville once they were out of earshot.

Draco nodded his head, keeping his eyes on the piles of books and broomsticks and swords. "Potter found it here, during the final battle… I… tried to stop him," he really didn't like to talk about his past mistakes.

"What happened?"

"The Dark Lord was attacking Hogwarts and he wanted Potter. Crabbe, Goyle and I went to look for him and found him here. Crabbe and Goyle attacked. Crabbe, the idiot, conjured Fiendfyre… He died in the flames…" He sighed. The memory more upsetting than it usually was now that he was standing in the room where it had happened. Crabbe truly had been an idiot, but he had still been a child and he had not deserved to die. And he and Goyle had been the closest thing to friends Draco had had during his time at school. 

"I'm sorry," said Neville.

"It's… Thanks. It's okay. It was his own fault, he shouldn't have cast it… but…" he didn't know what to say. The memory still haunted him.

They kept searching the room in silence.

Draco was in the process of looking into a blistered old cupboard, when he heard Neville say, "Draco, I think I found it."

Something was wrong, though. Draco could tell immediately. Neville's voice didn't sound happy or relieved. He turned around and to his immense horror, saw Crabbe and Goyle standing a couple of feet away from them.

"Been looking for this, eh?" said Crabbe and held up the Diadem.

"Oh shit," muttered Draco. "Hey guys. What brings you here?"

"We wanted to play Exploding Snap with you," said Crabbe.

"You never spend time with us anymore," complained Goyle.

"Prefer to hang out with blood traitors and mudbloods instead," spat Crabbe. "Then we saw you leave with Potter and his friends."

"We followed you."

"Alright," said Draco, taking a step towards them, "I'm sorry I haven't spent much time with you lately. I'll change that."

"It's a little late for that, traitor," hissed Crabbe and Goyle turned to look at him.

"Uhm, Crabbe? Are you alright?" asked Goyle.

Crabbe drew his wand. "If Potter wants this," he indicated the Diadem, "I'm sure the Dark Lord, once he returns to us, will want it, too." Crabbe's voice was a lot darker and clearer than it usually was, Draco noted. Better grammar, as well.

"Get away from him, Goyle," yelled Draco. "He's not himself anymore!"

Crabbe pointed his wand at Draco.

"A- aren't you a little overreacting?"asked Goyle.

"REDUCTO!" yelled Crabbe and the only reason the curse didn't hit Draco and Neville was that Goyle shoved Crabbe. The curse hit the cupboard behind Draco and blasted it into pieces. Draco grabbed Neville and pushed him behind a bookshelf.

Crabbe pushed Goyle out of his way.

"Draco?" Daphne yelled. "What's going on? Are you talking to someone?"

With a whip-like movement, Crabbe pointed his wand at a fifty-foot mountain of old furniture, of broken trunks, of old books and robes and unidentifiable junk, and shouted, "Descendo!"

The wall began to totter, then the top third crumbled and fell towards Draco and Neville.

They both jumped aside, but Draco got buried underneath falling objects.

"Draco!" he could hear Neville yell. They were now separated by the fallen wall.

Draco struggled to free himself from the heap of objects. He felt two sets of hands grab his arms and pull him out. The hands belonged to Daphne and Astoria.

Draco heard innumerable objects crashing to the floor on the other side of the destabilized wall: He pointed his wand at the rampart, cried, "Finite!" and it steadied.

Somewhere out of sight, he could hear Crabbe bellow "Mudblood! Crucio!", followed by the tortured screams of Hermione.

"Flipendo!" that sounded like Neville. The Knockback jinx must have hit its target, because Hermione had stopped screaming.

"What's going on?" hissed Daphne.

"Crabbe's got the Diadem. It's possessing him! We need to get over there!"

But it looked rather hopeless, they were trapped in the junk that was laying around them.

"Give up, Crabbe," yelled Potter, "you're surrounded and outnumbered."

"INCENDIO!"

The pile that was separating Astoria, Daphne and Draco from the rest, was now set aflame. The flames soon surrounded the three.

Draco cursed under his breath. It wasn't Fiendfyre, but it wasn't much better either.

"Petrificus Totalus!" bellowed Ron Weasley on the other side of the burning wall.

Draco searched the trash around them for anything useful, like a broom, but he couldn't find anything.

"Aqua Eructo!" yelled Daphne and a jet of water erupted from her wand and was sent towards the flames. Draco and Astoria did the same, but Draco knew that it was hopeless. There were too many and they were too high. The fire was expanding as fast as they were able to put it out. The smoke was growing heavier too and soon all of them were coughing and Draco's eyes were burning. The heat was increasing steadily. Draco felt desperate. Not only was he responsible for his own death, no, he had to bring the Greengrass sisters and drag them down with him.

When he thought all hope was lost, he could see the shape of Neville through the smoke. He was flying towards them, on a broom, holding another broom in his hands.

Neville threw the broom at Draco, who caught it. Draco mounted the broom and pulled Astoria onto it behind him. Neville flew down to them and Daphne joined him on his broom.

Draco could feel Astoria cling to him and he could feel her breath in his neck, which momentarily distracted him. But then he pushed himself off the ground.

Once they were all airborne, they all cast water-making spells to extinguish the flames.

And once the flames were put out, they landed next to the golden trio.

Crabbe lay on the ground in a full Body-Bind. Goyle was cowering in a corner. Harry was holding the diadem, wrapped in robes. Since they were all wearing theirs, Draco assumed they had found the robes somewhere in the room.

"That was close," breathed Daphne, still holding on to Neville, even though they weren't on the broom anymore. Draco could see that she was shaking and coughing. Astoria wasn't fairing any better, so Draco put a reassuring arm around her.

"We should get the diadem to Dumbledore," said Harry.

"And those two," added Draco, motioning his head in the direction of Crabbe and Goyle. "And we should get Hermione to Madame Pomfrey."

They all looked at Hermione, who was sitting on the ground, teary eyed and trembling.

They decided that Harry and Draco would bring the diadem and Crabbe and Goyle to the headmaster and that the rest would go to the hospital wing.

* * *

Draco, breathing heavily and still coughing, together with Harry, who was holding the wrapped up Diadem, Goyle, who hadn't said anything since the whole ordeal had started, and an unconscious Crabbe, who they were levitating, made his way through the castle. Fortunately, it was still early morning on a Saturday and there were hardly any students outside their dormitories.

Draco's mind was racing. Crabbe and Goyle had seen the Diadem. They had seen it, they knew it was important, they knew it had been full of Dark magic,... If - or rather, when - the Dark Lord returned, Crabbe and Goyle would join him. There were no two ways about it, sooner or later, they would. Draco might be able to keep the Greengrass sisters and Theo away from them, but Crabbe and Goyle were lost causes. And if they became Death Eaters, the Dark Lord would know that Draco not only knew about his Horcruxes, but that he was destroying them as well. Then he would make new ones. Ones Draco didn't know about and could do nothing about. And he would try to find Draco. Torture him and intrude his mind. He was a good Occlumens, but not good enough to withstand hours of torture and Legilimency. And if the Dark Lord broke through his Occlumency shields... He didn't even want to think about it. The war would probably be won by the Death Eaters. The Dark Lord would know about Snape's allegiance... His punishment would be slow, gruesome and fatal...

Why did none of his plans ever work out the way he wanted them to? He was sure that had never happened to Potter and his friends...

He could feel a headache forming in his head. He looked at Potter. He seemed to be lost in his own thoughts as well.

When they arrived at the stone gargoyle in front of Dumbledore's office, Draco had reached a decision. He stopped walking and drew his wand, pointing it at Crabbe and Goyle.

"What are you-?" Harry started to ask.

"Obliviate," cast Draco, before Potter could stop him. Goyle's eyes glazed over and he looked a bit disoriented. The memory charm had worked.

"What the?"

"Shh- I had to do it. Or would you rather have them know about the H-" Draco noticed that Goyle was looking at him, "you know what?"

"No. But you can't just do that to people! It's probably not even legal. You should have talked to Dumbledore first."

"He wouldn't have let me do it," Draco answered defiantly. He had thought about it but knew that Dumbledore believed in giving people choices. And erasing memories was quite the opposite.

"Then there are probably good reasons why you shouldn't have done this! What if you didn't do it right? Do you want them to end like Lockhart?"

Draco glowered at Harry. By now, the stone gargoyle had stepped aside and they made their way up the circular, moving stone staircase.

"Good morning," greeted Dumbledore. His trade-mark twinkle disappeared as soon as he saw how distraught Harry looked. His eyes wandered from Harry to Draco, who's disheveled appearance made him look grim. His eyes then fell on Crabbe and Goyle and he threw Draco a sharp glance.

He knew, Draco thought. He knew about the memory charm.

"What happened?" the headmaster finally asked.

"They followed us," said Draco, motioning his head towards Goyle and Crabbe, who was still floating in the air. Then he coughed and a sharp pain shot through his head.

"And Draco cast a memory charm," growled Harry.

"How'd I get here?" asked Goyle, looking around the room. He still looked rather confused and disoriented.

Dumbledore looked at Goyle kindly. "Your friend has unfortunately hit his head. I have offered to bring him to Madame Pomfrey. Do not worry. You may return to your room."

Goyle, although still looking confused, nodded and left the office.

"Mr. Malfoy," admonished Dumbledore and his disappointment and disapproval were evident.

"They saw!" Draco immediately defended himself. "Do you have any idea what that could mean once the Dark Lord is back?"

"This was not your decision to make and I will not allow you to attack other students in my school."

"Why don't you expel me, then?" hissed Draco. He knew Dumbledore would never expel him. He needed to keep Draco under his watch so the Death Eaters wouldn't get to him and his valuable information.

"Mr. Malfoy, watch your tone or you will serve detention with Mr. Filch," stated Dumbledore.

 _Don't treat me like a child_ , Draco wanted to say, but couldn't. Not as long as Potter was in the room.

Draco slumped into a chair and glared at Dumbledore.

"Judging by your behavior, I assume you have found the Diadem?"

Draco blinked. Was it possible that he had again been influenced by a Horcrux? He hadn't even touched it.

Harry looked at Draco, then at Dumbledore. "Yes." He put the tightly wrapped Horcrux on the desk and freed it from all the robes.

Dumbledore leaned forward to examine it. Then he got out the sword again and gave it to Harry.

The Diadem hissed, but before anything could happen, Harry had brought down the sword and cut it in two. Something light and misty swirled out of the Diadem, but also something black, that looked like blood.

Draco felt lighter immediately. Apparently the thing really had had an effect on him. Now he regretted how he had talked to the headmaster. "I am sorry," he breathed. "I don't know why they affect me so."

"I do have some theories, but this is neither the time nor the place to discuss them," said Dumbledore.

Draco nodded but he felt dizzy doing so.

"Harry," Dumbledore turned his attention to Potter, "have you had the chance to talk to Prof. Slughorn yet?"

"Ehm- no. But I will."

"Good. Good." Dumbledore leaned back in his chair. "We made some important progress today."

"So, he's really coming back? Voldemort?"

Draco flinched at Harry's use of the name. Potter looked sad, but not as shocked as he had when Dumbledore had first told him about the Horcruxes.

"Yes," Dumbledore said gravely, "there is reason to believe he will return soon."

"I should have known..." Potter mumbled.

"Known why?" asked Draco.

Harry looked at Draco as if he were surprised by his interest. "I've been having these weird dreams," he admitted. "I didn't think much of it but then my scar began to hurt again..."

What did the scar have to do with anything, wondered Draco.

"What kind of dreams, Harry?" asked Dumbledore and he looked far too interested for Draco's liking.

"Ehm- I've seen V-Voldemort... he talked to Wormtail- ehm, I mean Pettigrew... and there was a snake and..."

A snake? Draco paled. If that was Nagini then the Dark Lord had already made another Horcrux. "And what?" he asked.

"He- uhm- he killed a muggle. He told his snake to eat the man."

That sounded way too realistic to be just a dream. "Legilimency?" Draco asked Dumbledore.

Dumbledore looked out of the window into the distance. He didn't seem too happy. "Quite possibly." He turned back to look at the boys. "I believe you might benefit from learning Occlumency, Harry."

"Occlu- what?"

"Occlumency. It is the magical defense of the mind against external penetration. An obscure branch of magic, but a highly useful one."

"Oh. Do you think that's what Voldemort is doing? Reading my mind?"

Dumbledore smiled. "It is a bit more complicated than that, but yes."

"And you will be teaching me?"

"No. I fear I am not the best candidate to do this. I believe Professor Snape-"

"No!" Harry jumped up and his loud voice increased Draco's headache.

"Harry," Dumbledore said calmly, "Professor Snape is the best Occlumens I know."

"Surely not better than you, sir," said Harry.

Potter argued some more with the headmaster, but Draco could barely concentrate on them.

"Professor Snape will teach you," Dumbledore finally said in a tone that left no room for further argument. "Now, tell me what happened today."

Potter looked unhappy, but told Dumbledore everything about their adventures in the Room of Requirement.

"There is not much to do about Mr. Crabbe and Mr. Goyle, I believe. They do not remember what happened," at that he looked sharply at Draco, "and we cannot hold them responsible for what they did under the influence of the Horcrux. You can leave now, Harry. I will bring Mr. Crabbe and Mr. Malfoy to the infirmary."

"Why me?" asked Draco.

"You are clearly showing signs of smoke inhalation."

"So that's what this is?" groaned Draco and let his head sink onto the desk before him. "I feel like my head is going to explode."

Harry left the room and Dumbledore helped the two remaining Slytherins to the Hospital Wing.

"I believe," Dumbledore said on the way there, "that you would also benefit from Occlumency lessons."

"With Professor Snape?"

"No, with me."

"With you, sir?"

"Yes. We need to construct memories that, should you ever be captured by Voldemort, show an ordinary boy who knows nothing of Horcruxes and who thinks that Professor Snape is a devoted follower of him."

Draco nodded. He knew how important this was. It wasn't just about his own safety. It was about the safety of his friends and his godfather and might be imperative if they wanted to win the war.

In the infirmary, the second time in just a week he noted unhappily, Draco got the chance to tell Daphne, Astoria and Neville what had happened.

"You have to spend more time with Crabbe and Goyle," said Neville once Draco had finished his tale.

"What? Are you crazy?" hissed Daphne. "They tried to kill us! They can count themselves lucky if I don't hex them every time I see them from now on."

"No!" hissed Draco, "they don't even now what happened anymore and you can't punish Crabbe for something he did while under the influence of the Diadem."

"And you guys not spending time with him is the reason why they were there in the first place," added Astoria. "They probably just felt lonely."

"Fine," growled Daphne. "But you can't force me to like them."

Draco chuckled. "No problem."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas :)


	18. Chapter 18

Time passed quickly. Juggling researching and studying with Neville, spending time with his friends and working on his Occlumency kept Draco quite busy. He tried to spend time with Crabbe and Goyle as well, which was a bit difficult, seeing that they were still not too happy about Theo being a part of their group after everything that had happened at the World Cup, but somehow Draco managed. His Occlumency with lessons with Dumbledore were going rather well. He was working on fake memories that were easily accessible to a Legilimens. The plan was to eventually build layer upon layer of memories, so less important and fake memories were easy to find and more important ones harder. At first a Legilimens would not find anything suspicious. Upon further investigation, an attacking Legilimens would then, after a lot of work, find some compromising fake memories, that still wouldn't lead to any problems. These memories showed him as a time traveler, but they showed that he had reached nothing during his time in the past and that he didn't know anything important about the future. There were layers upon layers and even an accomplished Legilimens would have trouble getting to the truly important ones. But to reach that level, Draco would still need hours of training with Dumbledore.

Draco could often see Harry talking to Slughorn. He didn't know, though, if he had had any success in acquiring the memory.

Defense Against the Dark Arts was going great. Snape had apparently decided to skip everything that could not directly be used in the upcoming war. He didn't teach magical creatures, but decided to focus on healing, defensive and offensive magic and his lessons were closer to dueling sessions than normal lessons, which most students quite liked.

When Draco arrived in the entrance hall sometime in October after a particularly nasty Care of Magical Creatures class - well, they were all nasty since the only thing they were doing was working with Blast-Ended Skrewts - he found himself unable to proceed owing to the large crowd of students congregated there, all milling around a large sign that had been erected at the foot of the marble staircase. Draco pushed through the crowd to get a good look at the sign.

**TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT**

_The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving at 6 o'clock on Friday the 30th of October. Lessons will end half an hour early — Students will return their bags and books to their dormitories and assemble in front of the castle to greet our guests before the Welcoming Feast._

The crowd was excited and chattered away. Draco tried to get out of there to get to the Great Hall, but was stopped by a hand on each of his shoulders.

"Look who we have here," said a voice which must have belonged to one of the hands.

"If it isn't our favorite Slytherin - not that that's particularly hard - and honorary brother."

Draco turned around to come face to face with the Weasely twins.

"Hey guys. What are you two up to? I don't have to watch what I'm eating again, do I? I don't want to be turned into a ferret or anything."

"A ferret," one of them mused, scratching his chin and eyes twinkling, "now that's an idea."

Draco's face paled considerably.

"Just kidding," said the other twin, but they looked at each other conspiratorially.

"Ehm, right. You two got any ideas on the Triwizard Tournament yet? Thought any more about trying to enter?"

"I asked McGonagall how the champions are chosen but she wasn't telling," said one of them bitterly. "She just told me to shut up and get on with transfiguring my raccoon."

Draco chuckled.

"But I'm sure we'll find a way," said the other, sounding hopeful.

"You'll try and get in, won't you, Draco?" continued the other.

"Uhm, I haven't thought about it." His knowledge of the tasks would definitely help him ace them. And perhaps he would even be able to step over the Age Line. But he didn't particularly care to end up on a silver platter right in front of the Dark Lord. 

The twins looked at him, their mouths wide open.

"Haven't thought about it?"

"This is only the most exciting-"

"-most spectacular-"

"-most amazing thing that has ever happened in this school."

"Right," said Draco, faintly amused. "Otherwise life at Hogwarts really is rather dull."

"Mark my words, Fred and George Weasley will enter their names. We can help you too, if you'd like."

"I don't think anyone under seventeen will stand a chance," said a new voice. "We just haven't learned enough."

"Speak for yourself, Hermione," said one of the twins shortly.

Draco was surprised at how cold the twins were to her.

"Better watch out, Draco," one of them said.

"She'll try to get you to join S.P.E.W." continued the other, wrinkling his nose.

"S.P.E.W.? Never heard of it," said Draco.

"Of course you haven't. She invented it. Has been bothering every Gryffindor who can't hide fast enough."

Hermione glared at the twins, then turned towards Draco, putting a badge into his hands that read S.P.E.W. "It means "Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare". You know, house-elves get a very raw deal! It's slavery, that's what it is!" she explained. "Did you know that your sheets are changed, your fires lit, your classrooms cleaned, and your food cooked by a group of magical creatures who are unpaid and enslaved?"

Draco shrugged. He didn't really care about that. His sheets had always been changed by house elves and he didn't think his mother even knew how to cook. "How many members do you have?" he asked, amused.

"Two, if you join her," laughed one of the twins.

"Fred! That's not true," huffed Hermione indignantly. "A few people have joined already."

"To stop you from pestering them."

"That's not true," she huffed.

"My dear Mione," said the other twin, "no one cares. And have you ever been to the kitchen?"

"Well… no," she answered carefully, sensing a trap. "Of course not. I hardly think students are supposed to-"

"Well, we have," said the other twin, indicating his brother, "loads of times, to nick food. And we've met them, and they're happy. They think they've got the best job in the world!"

Before Hermione could come up with a retort, Draco slowly backed up and got away from their conversation.

The following days, the castle seemed to be undergoing an extra-thorough cleaning. Several grimy portraits had been scrubbed, much to the displeasure of their subjects, who sat huddled in their frames muttering darkly and wincing as they felt their raw pink faces. The suits of armor were suddenly gleaming and moving without squeaking, and Filch was behaving so ferociously to any students who forgot to wipe their shoes that he terrified a pair of first-year girls into hysterics.

The school was cleaned and decorated. The banners of the four houses and the Hogwarts banner hang wherever one looked. Classes were tough. No one paid any attention during lessons, being much more interested in the arrival of the people from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, and the teachers were tense, too.

When the bell rang early on Friday, everyone hurried back to their dorms, deposited their bags and books as they had been instructed, pulled on their cloaks, and rushed back downstairs into the entrance hall.

The Heads of Houses were ordering their students into lines.

"Straighten your hat, Mr. Goyle" Professor Snape instructed, examining his students one last time. "Now follow me, please," he said. "First years in front . . . no pushing. . . ."

"I am so excited," said Pansy, standing right next to Draco. "How d'you reckon they're coming? The train?"

"I doubt it," said Draco.

Dumbledore called out from the back row where he stood with the other teachers —"Aha! Unless I am very much mistaken, the delegation from Beauxbatons approaches!"

"Where?" said many students eagerly, all looking in different directions.

"There!" yelled a sixth year Gryffindor, pointing over to somewhere over the forest.

Draco watched in amusement how his classmates nearly flipped out at the sight of the gigantic, powder-blue, horse-drawn carriage, the size of a large house, soaring toward them. It was pulled through the air by a dozen winged horses, all palominos, and each the size of an elephant. The students from Beauxbaton had arrived.

It wasn't long before a loud and oddly eerie noise announced the arrival of Durmstrang. Seconds later a gigantic ship emerged from the lake.

The students were mesmerized. Draco had been too, when he first saw the arrival of the two other schools. But having spent a whole year with them already, Draco now found it more interesting to watch his friends' reactions to the arrival. They were all standing there, mouths wide open, staring.

Their reaction was even funnier when, at the Feast, Draco waved the Durmstrang students over and invited them to sit with them.

"I can't believe it," gushed Theodore, "it's Viktor Krum. Sir," he said, turning to Krum, who was sitting next to Draco and opposite of Theo, "it is an honor to meet you." He shook his hand.

Krum looked a bit annoyed by the attention he was getting. "It is fine. Call me Viktor, please."

Pansy and Daphne and literally the whole table were fawning over their star.

"I'm sorry, Victor," laughed Draco, "my friends aren't usually like this. I am Draco, by the way."

"I am used to it," said the world class Quidditch player, shrugging his shoulders. "Nice to meet you, Draco."

"And who are you?" asked Draco the other two Durmstrang students sitting close to Viktor Krum. Most other Durmstrang students were sitting with the older Slytherins. Draco had never bothered to befriend anyone but Krum originally, and that hadn't worked either.

One of them, a girl with blond hair and big blue eyes, almost jumped out of her seat. Apparently, it was unusual to be spoken to if sitting next to a Quidditch legend.

"Johanna Erikson," she said, smiling shyly.

"And I'm Serge," said the other Durmstrang student. He looked at Draco and his friends, who now introduced themselves as well.

"So, how's Durmstrang? My father thought about sending me there, but in the end, obviously, decided against it."

"It is okay, yah. Not as nice as Hogwarts," answered Johanna.

"Vell, ve have a castle also," said Krum, "not as big as this, nor as comfortable, I am thinking. Ve have just four floors, and the fires are lit only for magical purposes. But ve have grounds larger even than these — though in vinter we have very little day-light, so ve are not enjoying them. But in summer ve are flying every day, over the lakes and the mountains…"

"I wish we could fly every day, too," sighed Theo. "If you aren't on the Quidditch team, you hardly get to fly at all around here."

"We have more daylight here, I think," said Draco, "but it probably rains more than in Norway."

They talked some more and Draco found out that Serge was from Russia and Johanna from Sweden.

When Crouch and Bagman arrived at the head table and sat next to Karkaroff and Madame Maxim, Dumbledore began his speech, first introducing their guests, then explaining the further proceedings.

"As you know, three champions compete in the tournament," Dumbledore announced calmly, "one from each of the participating schools. They will be marked on how well they perform each of the Tournament tasks and the champion with the highest total after task three will win the Triwizard Cup. The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector: the Goblet of Fire."

Dumbledore now took out his wand and tapped three times upon the top of the casket. The lid creaked slowly open. Dumbledore reached inside it and pulled out a large, roughly hewn wooden cup. It would have been entirely unremarkable had it not been full to the brim with dancing blue-white flames.

Dumbledore closed the casket and placed the goblet carefully on top of it, where it would be clearly visible to everyone in the Hall.

"Anybody wishing to submit themselves as champion must write their name and school clearly upon a slip of parchment and drop it into the goblet," said Dumbledore. "Aspiring champions have twenty-four hours in which to put their names forward. Tomorrow night, Halloween, the goblet will return the names of the three it has judged most worthy to represent their schools. The goblet will be placed in the entrance hall tonight, where it will be freely accessible to all those wishing to compete. To ensure that no underage student yields to temptation," said Dumbledore, "I will be drawing an Age Line around the Goblet of Fire once it has been placed in the entrance hall. Nobody under the age of seventeen will be able to cross this line. Finally, I wish to impress upon any of you wishing to compete that this tournament is not to be entered into lightly. Once a champion has been selected by the Goblet of Fire, he or she is obliged to see the tournament through to the end. The placing of your name in the goblet constitutes a binding, magical contract. There can be no change of heart once you have become a champion. Please be very sure, therefore, that you are wholeheartedly prepared to play before you drop your name into the goblet. Now, I think it is time for bed. Good night to you all."

Draco looked over to Neville. 24 hours. They had to be on the watch 24 hours to keep Cedric from entering his name. That couldn't be too hard now, could it?

The twins' eyes gleamed and Draco knew they would use an aging potion to try and fool the Age Line. How foolish they were to believe they could outsmart Albus Dumbledore.

When everyone went back to their dormitories, or ships or carriages, Draco grabbed Neville.

"What are we going to do?" he whispered.

Neville shrugged his shoulders. "Do you know when Cedric puts his name into the cup?"

"No," Draco answered.

"So, I guess we'll just have to stand guard for the whole 24 hours?" Neville said.

Draco sighed. "I guess so."

"But what do we do when he gets here? I doubt we'll be able to talk him out of it. And we can't wrestle him down or anything."

"Good question," pondered Draco. "I guess we could stun him and lock him into an empty classroom for 24 hours… but it is a bit extreme, even for the greater good."

"Draco!" Neville gave him a look of bewilderment.

"Just thinking out loud," laughed Draco.

They sat down at an empty table and watched the hall clear out.

"What if one of us needs to go to the infirmary? He is a prefect, he'd need to take care of that," suggested Neville after a while.

Draco groaned. "Another night in the infirmary? They should form a fifth house for people like me, who practically live there."

"Stop whining. I didn't want to hex you anyways. You'll hex me," offered Neville.

Draco considered this for a while. He wasn't happy with the solution, but couldn't think of a better one either. "Alright. But you need to make sure he stays with you in the Hospital Wing so long he has to postpone putting his name in. And I don't want to get detention or anything."

"We could do it in the hallway in front of the Hufflepuff common room. Then you could go to sleep and I could tell him I didn't see who did it."

"Neville, you are a genius."

They watched a few people put their names into the cup, then made their way to the right-hand side corridor near the kitchens, where the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room was.

"Please don't use anything too painful," said Neville, now slightly panicked.

"Don't worry, I have just the perfect spell for this."

They waited for a couple of minutes, but eventually they heard Cedric Diggory talking to someone else, coming closer to where they were.

"Good luck, Neville," whispered Draco, "and I'm really sorry for this. Densaugeo!"

Neville's front teeth were now growing at an alarming speed. Neville looked like an overgrown beaver. Draco would have laughed had the situation not been so serious.

Draco had to hide, so he ran towards the portrait of a gigantic silver fruit bowl and tickled the pear. It turned into a large green door handle. The Weasley twins weren't the only ones who knew how to get into the kitchens.

He could hear Cedric saying "Oh my, what happened to you?" before the door behind him closed again.

Once in the kitchen, Draco was surprised to find out he wasn't alone. Besides a huge number of house elves, there were also Fred, George and Lee Jordan, huddled around a cauldron.

"What the-?" Draco gasped.

"Draco!" yelled one of the twins, "how nice of you to join us. Have you changed your mind about entering the Triwizard Tournament?"

"Ehm… no? I'm just here… because I got hungry," Draco stammered, grabbing an apple out of a fruit bowl and biting into it. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Brewing an aging potion, of course," answered the other twin, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, pouring some of it in a vial and putting a stopper in it. "The effects are only temporary, so we'll take it tomorrow morning, right before we'll enter our names."

Lee looked at Draco warily, but then said, "We're going to split the thousand Galleons between the three of us if one of us wins."

"Genius," said Draco, amused.

"You want to try it, too?" asked one of the twins. "There is enough for all of us."

Draco wanted to decline, but then changed his mind. "Sure, why not."

* * *

Draco left the kitchens quite pleased with himself. He made his way back to Slytherin. He fell asleep, feeling like for once, things might actually work out the way he wanted them to.

The next morning, he got up really early and made his way down to the Great Hall before everyone else, even though everyone else was getting up early as well.

He took his books with him so he could study a bit. He had a feeling that he would spend a big part of his day in the Entrance Hall.

The only two other people already there were a sleepy looking Neville, who sat down next to Draco at the Slytherin table, and Bagman who was sitting at the Head Table.

"Good morning, my fellow conspirator," Draco greeted happily.

Neville, apparently, wasn't in such a good mood. "Mornin'," he mumbled.

"Had a long night?" Draco asked empathetically.

"You have no idea. Cedric brought me to the infirmary alright. But then he wanted to leave, so I had to pretend to be in horrible pain, so he wouldn't," Neville sighed heavily, "Pomfrey used all kinds of diagnostic spells and charms, but obviously nothing was wrong with me. She shrunk my teeth back to their normal size – thanks for that, by the way," he glowered at Draco.

"I'm sorry," Draco said, but he was grinning so brightly that Neville only rolled his eyes.

"Then I asked Cedric to bring me back to my dorm. I said I was too scared to go on my own, since, you know, the attacker might come back."

"That was brilliant," said Draco.

"That was embarrassing," countered Neville. He grabbed a pear from a fruit bowl on the table. "That stopped him from putting his name in yesterday but what should we do about today?"

"Oh, I already have a plan. I got the house elves to put the aging potion from Fred and George on everyone's breakfast."

Neville dropped the pear he was just about to bite into.

"What?" He shrieked.

"That will lead to a commotion of epic proportions and will keep everyone in the infirmary for half the day," he said gleefully.

"Hmm... Draco?" Neville asked innocently.

"Yes?"

"How to put this?" Neville rubbed his chin contemplatively, "You are crazy. Completely mental."

Draco chuckled. "If you don't want people to think you were in on the joke, you should eat some of the food, too."

Neville glanced at the food on the table. "No thanks. I think I lost my appetite."

Draco laughed and Neville tried to look angry, but couldn't hide his amusement.

"But what if he throws his name in before he eats anything? He'll pass the goblet in the Entrance Hall before he comes to the Great Hall."

"Well, we'll just have to make sure that that doesn't happen. Now, eat something." Draco pushed his own plate towards Neville. "I made sure the house elves would give me one that hasn't been tampered with."

Neville looked wary, but ate some toast anyway.

Then they made their way back into the Entrance Hall, where the first students were now arriving.

A few students put their names in the goblet and the steadily growing crowd watched them. Draco kept scanning the room for Diggory, but couldn't see him.

"'Mornin' guys," greeted Theo sleepily. "Anything interesting happened?"

"Hmm... not really. Couple of people put their names in the cup. Cassius Warrington. You know him, he's in our house. Then that Gryffindor girl that plays Chaser for Gryffindor..."

"Angelina Johnson?" supplied Neville.

"That's the one," said Draco.

They watched the Durmstrang students arrive. All of them put their names into the goblet.

"I did it," exclaimed Johanna excitedly, walking over to Draco, Neville and Theo.

"Awesome," said Theo. "I wish I could put my name in, too. But we're too young," he sighed.

"I am sure there will be another competition, yah," said Johanna, trying to cheer him up. "When you are older."

Theo shrugged his shoulders. "One can only hope."

Viktor and Serge soon joined them and they chatted for a while, observing the Entrance Hall and the people that put their names in the cup.

Then Cedric Diggory arrived and Draco and Neville walked over to him. Draco as thinking of what to tell him, but needn't have worried. Right behind Diggory was the whole of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic arrived in the Entrance Hall (or at least everyone off age who had decided to come to Hogwarts). At the same time, the Weasley twins arrived, too. A huge line was forming before the cup.

"Hi Cedric," Neville started. "Thanks again for yesterday. Don't know what I would have done without you."

"No problem," said Cedric.

"Are you going to throw your name in?" asked Draco, motioning his head toward the goblet.

"Yeah, but wow, I didn't expect their to be such a long line. I wanted to get up earlier, but I was so tired..."

"Maybe you should go eat breakfast first," offered Draco, "and put your name in when there are less people around."

The Hufflepuff studied Draco for a while. "Not a bad idea, actually."

Cedric and his friends went into the Great Hall. Draco and Neville followed them, both sitting down at their respective tables.

The Great Hall was now slowly filling with people who were eagerly eating their breakfast.

Draco didn't talk to Pansy, Tracey or Daphne and didn't eat anything. He told them he wasn't hungry. He chose to watch Cedric eat instead.

Diggory was already halfway through his porridge, when the first signs of something being wrong could be observed. It was most obvious with the first years. They were the smallest. Or rather, they were usually the smallest. Suddenly, even the shortest first year was at least as tall as Draco, their faces sporting zits and the beginnings of what might one day be called a beard. But the firsties weren't the only ones, just the most obvious ones. Soon, every student in the hall had reached varying states of adulthood, depending on how much they had eaten. Crabbe and Goyle's faces were now full of wrinkles and their white, long hair matched their Dumbledore-style beards.

Draco couldn't help it and started to laugh when he saw them. He wasn't the only one who had noticed, though. Shrieks and laughter could be heard all over the hall.

"Not hungry my ass," growled Pansy. "You did this," she said, gesturing up and down her body, which looked to be in its twenties.

"I don't know," Draco said, laughing, "what you are talking about." He swiped away a tear form the corner of his right eye.

"Why didn't you tell us?" asked Daphne, indignantly.

"Plausible deniability," grinned Draco.

"The teachers too?" asked Tracey worriedly.

"What?" Draco's face fell and he looked up to the head table. Only Bagman, Snape and McGonagall were sitting there. Bagman still looked the same, McGonagall looked only slightly older and Snape looked about twenty years older and quite annoyed. "Shit," muttered Draco. The house elves must have taken his words too literally. When he said everyone's food he had meant every student.

"Wow," mused Daphne, "age sure looks good on Snape."

"Daphne!" giggled Pansy, but nodded her head in agreement.

It looked like Snape and McGonagall were about to make their displeasure known, when Dumbledore entered the Great Hall. He assessed the situation and told everyone effected to go to the Infirmary.

Draco chanced a look at Cedric and was pleased to see that he was in his thirties at least and walking towards the Infirmary with everyone else.

To his dismay, Snape made his way towards Draco. "Mr. Malfoy. I hope you feel well, seeing that you haven't eaten anything today."

"I am fine, Professor. Thank you for asking, though," said Draco cheekily.

"Have you done this? Did you put an aging potion into the food?"

"You can give me Veritaserum, sir, I swear I did not brew an aging potion." That was true, he wasn't the one who had brewed it. Whether Snape believed him or not was irrelevant as he could not prove that Draco had done it.

Giving Draco a calculating look, he walked away.

Theo, Viktor, Serge and Johanna joined Draco at his table, where he was now pretty much alone.

"There you are," said Theo, "you suddenly disappeared on us. Missed the most amazing thing. The twins tried to trick the goblet of fire. Got catapulted back out of the Age Line and grew immense beards... But you were probably entertained enough..."

"Are things alvays this chaotic here?" asked Krum, motioning his head towards the door, through which the last effected student had just left.

"Pretty much," laughed Draco.

"Wait- It was you, wasn't it?" asked Theo, eyeing the food at their table.

"It's fine, you can eat it. Dumbledore had a talk with the elves," Draco said, choosing not to answer his question.

Theo shook his head and grabbed a baguette. "What are your plans for today?"

"Uhm- I thought I'd hang around the Entrance Hall, see who all puts their name in."

"The whole day? Sounds pretty boring."

Draco shrugged his shoulders. "Perhaps I'll start a gambling business. I'm sure there's plenty of students who'll want to bet on the outcome."

Theo shook his head. "I think you are in enough trouble already. If you do any more today, Snape will kill you."

When everyone had eaten and left the Great Hall, Draco got out his books on Herbology and Occlumency. He was soon joined by Neville.

"I can't believe your stupid plan actually worked," Neville shook his head.

"Whose plan are you calling stupid?" asked Draco, mock-hurt.

Neville rolled his eyes. "Any more strokes of genius?" he asked. "Cedric will be back sooner or later."

Draco thought for a while. "No, not really." Draco frowned. He doubted that they would succeed in keeping him from the cup a third time.

Neville looked at Draco for a long time before he talked again. "I have given this some thought and... seeing how important this is, I think I want to take a sip of my Felix Felicis."

Draco opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it again. "What?" he finally managed to ask.

"Only a sip. A drop. Not all of it. Not even half of it. But we're trying to save a life here. This is important."

Draco could see how serious Neville was. "Fine. If that's what you want to do." He would have preferred to keep the potion for more important things, but then again, it wasn't his potion.

"It is," said Neville, sounding determined. He pulled the tiny vial out of his pocket. "Alright, here goes nothing," he said and let a drop of what looked like molten gold fall onto his tongue.

"Okay," Neville said, jumping up, knocking Draco's books of the table, "let's-" but he stopped mid-sentence when his eyes fell onto the books.

"That... was surprisingly clumsy for someone who should be as lucky as a leprechaun. Maybe the potion has gone bad. Who knows how long Slughorn has sat on it..." Draco said but trailed off, "Are you even listening to me?"

"Sorry Draco," Neville said, grabbing his books from the ground, "got to go."

"What- Wait! What?" Draco stammered, but Neville had already scurried away. "Great," Draco huffed. So it was up to him to save the day. Again.

* * *

He made his way into the Entrance Hall and sat down in a corner, waiting for the time to pass and for an idea to come to him with very little success.

Theo had been right. Sitting around the Entrance Hall all day was indeed quite boring.

Around lunchtime, he quickly ate something and hurried back into the Entrance Hall. But he needn't have worried, half of the students were still with Madam Pomfrey. The potion to de-age the students was not too difficult to brew, but the school's matron probably didn't have high enough quantities at her disposal and had to have Snape brew more.

"Draco, Draco, Draco," said the Weasley twins in unison, arriving in the Entrance Hall early in the afternoon.

"You sly little... Slytherin," said one of them.

"Hey guys. Back from the Infirmary?" he asked, grinning. He had heard about their failed attempt of putting their names into the goblet.

"Yes," answered the other. He really needed to learn to keep them apart. "And what must we hear? Half of the school turned thirty overnight."

"Wow, really? That's tough," said Draco, grinning, "sounds like an aging potion."

"Hmm, that's what we thought, too," said one of them, scratching his chin.

"And the only question left is... How could you do this without us?"

"Seriously, mate. Such a brilliant plan and you don't tell us about it? That hurts," continued the other, putting his hands on his chest and shaking his head. "What did we ever do to you to deserve this?"

Draco could think of several pranks they had pulled on him during their shared time at Hogwarts to deserve this. "You seemed to be otherwise preoccupied," he laughed.

"Yeah, but still. I wish I could have seen Snape's face," one of them lamented.

"Ah, I'm sure one day you'll manage to prank him, too," said Draco, amused.

"You can bet on that," they said in unison and went into the Great Hall to eat lunch.

While waiting for Cedric, Draco got to talk to several people passing the Entrance Hall to get into the Great Hall. Theo, Luna and the Durmstrang students, just to name a few. He talked to all of them.

As the afternoon progressed, Draco grew restless. He still had no idea what to do about Cedric. If he wanted to save his life, he had to stop him from entering his name. Because if he entered his name, he would be chosen again. And then he would die again and everything would repeat itself. And if he knew about a person's impending death and didn't do anything about it - wasn't it like killing that person himself? Wasn't knowing about a murder and being able to stop it but failing to do so just as bad as committing the murder?

Draco wished he could talk to someone about all of this. But Neville had abandoned him and it was too late to involve Dumbledore now.

When Cedric entered the room, accompanied by his friends, everything happened way too fast for Draco's liking.

"Oi, hey Cedric," greeted Draco.

"Malfoy," nodded Cedric. He didn't seem too happy. Probably a side effect of spending two consecutive days in the Hospital Wing.

"What are you doing?"

"Finally putting my name in the goblet," he grumbled. He made a step towards the goblet but Draco stood in his way.

"Uhm- are you sure that's a good idea? I've heard the Triwizard Tournement is really dangerous."

"It is nice of you to worry about me, but I will be fine. Now, step aside."

"I don't think you should do this. I mean, if you haven't managed to put it in yesterday or today, then maybe the universe is trying to tell you something... I mean, ending up in the Infirmary twice seems like more than just a conincidence," stammered Draco, improvising.

Cedric looked irritated and then confused. "How- How do you know about all of that? Are you stalking me? Or- wait! Was it you?" Cedric looked livid. "You were at breakfast, too. You and Longbottom. But I don't recall seeing either of you at Madam Pomfrey's..."

Draco panicked and jumped forward, trying to tackle Cedric. Best case scenario, they would both end up in detention and Cedric wouldn't be able to put his name in.

"Hey!" yelled one of Cedric's friends, grabbing Draco. Draco struggled, but now three older and taller Hufflepuffs were holding him down.

A group of students were now standing around them, watching the commotion.

"Hurry," said one of the Hufflepuffs to Cedric.

Cedric glared at Draco, grabbed a piece of parchment and a pen, wrote his name and the name of his school on the parchment and stepped towards the cup.

He looked at Draco while he dropped the piece of parchment. It sailed towards the cup, twisting and turning on its way towards its destination.

"No," Draco gasped as he watched it fall. There was nothing he could do now. He had failed.

But then, he heard a voice whisper "Incendio." The piece of parchment burned right before it landed in the cup.

Draco stared at it with an open mouth but nobody else seemed to have noticed it as he was the only one watching the cup.

Cedric smiled. "Leave him be," he told his friends, who let go of Draco.

"I don't know what's wrong with you, creep," whispered one of them towards Draco, "but keep away from us."

Draco nodded, making his way towards the source of the voice that had destroyed the piece of parchment before it landed in the cup.

"A-Astoria?" he whispered.

"You're welcome," she said with a small smile.

"How- what-" Draco stuttered, flabbergasted.

"On the way down here, I had just visited Daphne in the Infirmary, I met Neville and he told me you were trying to stop Cedric from entering his name and that you could use some help. I assumed you had a good reason for that."

Draco looked at her and blinked a few times. "Thanks. I like your act first and ask questions later attitude." He smiled at her warmly.

She smiled back, making Draco feel warm and fuzzy inside. Looking him straight in the eyes, she said, "I trust you, Draco. You are a good guy. If you think this is important I assume you have good reasons to do so, even if you don't want to share them."

Draco's heart fluttered. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Now, I think you should go and find Neville. He seemed really excited about something and told me to tell you to meet him by the lake once you're done."

Draco would have rather stayed with Astoria, but he nodded and left the Entrance Hall.

All the way to the lake, thoughts of Astoria filled his mind. Draco felt absolutely delighted. Cedric was save, even though suspicious of him, and Astoria had said she trusted him.

The excited face of Neville interrupted his musing.

"I think I found it," he explained happily.

"Found what?" asked Draco, examining Neville. Neville looked about to burst from excitement. "I stopped Cedric, by the way. Or rather, Astoria did-"

"I found a way to heal my parents!" Neville interrupted Draco. "I looked at the books you gave me and at Snape's potion and the books he gave you... and you know, the Felix..."

"Wow, Neville. That's great. No, scratch that - that's absolutely fantastic!"

Neville beamed. "I think a few alterations to Snape's potion could heal the physical damage done to my parents and a spell cast by a skilled mind healer or Legilimens should take care of the damage done to their minds!"

"Wow... just wow. This is awesome," Draco was stunned. "How did you figure it out?"

"Remember how I knocked over one of your Occlumency books? When I picked it up I saw just the chapter I needed. And then... I don't know, things just fell into place."

"Pretty big coincidence with the book and all."

"Not coincidence. Luck," Neville beamed.

"Can we brew the potion on our own?" Draco asked.

Neville's face fell. "Not really. I have a basic idea but I'm not good enough at Potions or Arithmancy to brew it. And we'll need help with the mind healing part and the spell as well. The spell also needs to be adapted to their special circumstances..."

"Oh, I know just the person to help us with that," Draco grinned. He felt really optimistic now.

"Oh," Neville groaned, "please don't say it."

"Snape," Draco chuckled.

"Should I drink more Felix for that?"

"No," Draco laughed. "Let's try on our own first. If he doesn't agree we can still try the Felix, but I think it's really better if we save it for when we actually try to heal them."

Neville nodded.

Draco started to walk back to the castle.

"Where are you going?"

"There's no time like the present. And maybe the Felixis is still working in our favor. Are you coming?"

Neville looked shocked, but followed Draco.

* * *

He knocked three times on Snape's office door. "Godfather? May I come in?"

"Of course, Draco," he could hear from the other side of the door. "Come in."

Neville looked at Draco apprehensively and Draco smiled at him reassuringly.

Draco opened the door and stepped into the Potions Master's office.

Snape was sitting at his desk, looking exhausted but quite a few years younger again. When he saw who was accompanying Draco, he crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair.

"Mr. Longbottom," he greeted with a curt nod of his head. "Why am I not surprised to see the two of you? Lately, whenever something out of the ordinary happens, it has something to do with you, Draco." Draco wondered whether he was still mad about the aging potion or whether he had really believed him when he had said that it hadn't been him.

Draco walked over to the desk and sat down in one of the chairs. Neville hesitantly followed his example.

"I've noticed that as well," Draco sighed. "But you said I shouldn't do dangerous things on my own and that I should come and talk to you if something was up... Well, something is up."

Snape leaned forward, studying Draco and Neville. "And what might this 'something' be?"

Draco elbowed Neville.

"Uhm-ehm-" stammered Neville, "We have been working on a way to heal my parents."

At that, Snape's gaze softened. "Continue."

"Draco has been helping me in potions," Neville said, now encouraged, "and he told me about your Post-Cruciatus potion. I thought, if we made it more potent, using Hypericum and some other plants, and adapted it a little to their special condition, we might be able to undo most of the nerve damage. But I think the torture might also have had an effect on their minds." Neville pulled out his notes and Draco's book  _Magicks of the Mind_. "I think a spell and some Legilimancy could help with that."

Neville took a deep breath and looked expectantly at Snape, who eyed the notes curiously. "May I?" he finally asked.

Neville nodded hastily and pushed the notes towards Snape. Snape studied them for a while, looking intrigued.

"Mr. Longbottom," he said after a while, looking up from the notes, "it seems I have underestimated you."

Neville grinned. "Thank you, sir. You think it might work?"

"I think it might. The potion will still need to be adapted and the correct measurements of the ingredients found. And the spell might need to be adapted..." Snape trailed off, deep in thought.

"Would you be willing to help us with that?" Draco asked.

Snape regarded them both.

"Only a true potions genius could solve such an enticing problem. One, which would surely deserve an Order of Merlin," Draco prompted.

Draco knew he was laying it on a bit thick, but Snape's distant look gave him the impression that if he hadn't already been intrigued, he definitely was now.

"I will think about it. May I keep the notes?" he finally said.

The boys both nodded and left the office. Outside of the office, Neville pulled Draco into a bone-crushing hug. "Thank you, Draco. None of this would have ever happened without you."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you think in the comments :)


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